Only a Girl Breaking the Barriers
by lanceXstorm5
Summary: -Sequel to "Only a Girl Out of this World"- Krystal is about to Cerinia but her decision to be with Light and not go back to her game is tearing both dimensions apart. Team Starfox also come to join the gang and save the universe. HumanOC/Krystal Fox/Far.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own Krystal or anyone and anything else that belongs to some big company. The plot, villain, and many other things or characters do belong to me however.  
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**Author's Note: It feels so good to be back in action. The sequel to my first novel is finally here. Remember, constructive criticism is welcome, flaming me for having Krystal with a human is not. I'm going to do the best I can to bring you an epic adventure that you will never forget. This story will also be roller coaster of emotion. What I have to say is don't jump to conclusions. I've decided to take the saying "darkest before dawn" to heart with this one. Also, I'm having trouble trying to decide on what to do near the end. If you guys manage to break 197 reviews by the time the chapter count reaches 27, I will choose add in a certain event that will trigger something special for all of you at the end. As a side note, I'm actually getting better at my proof reading so I've decided to not have a beta reader this time around. This will help train me to spot my mistakes better. There will be grammatical errors but less since what I've learned from English professor. Be sure to tell me my mistakes though, especially any major errors that would seriously disrupt the story's flow. this story will also be told in three arcs. When an arc ends, I'll take a break for a week or two and then start back up again.  
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**Important: I would like to ask if anyone with artistic talent would please make some so I can put a nice little video together.  
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**Full Summary: A decade has past since Krystal first arrived to Earth through an archaeological present given to Light by his uncle Allistor, and a copy of 'Starfox Adventures' loaned to him by a friend. Her decision to stay and their decision to be together are not without consequence. Her presence and actions in our dimension is quickly weakening the barriers in between dimensions, leaving a slowly opening pathway for a long forgotten being of destruction. What is the secret of this being... and what is it exactly? What is the Forlorn Knight? Allistor, Lindsey, and an entire secret organization has a close enough answer. Fox arrives just in time to help them but how will his presence affect Krystal and Light's marriage? Nat, Alex, and Chris are back to keep things interesting and show the bright side of things... even in the face of a terrible tragedy. What started ten years before as a fear inducing crimson-red spatial anomaly in the sky, will end in a battle to save the fabric of reality itself. And maybe help a marriage that should never have been.**

**To Everyone: I hope you all enjoy the prologue... and try not to tear up. The theme song for the first arc is katethegreat19's "Your Not Alone." Just go to youtube and search it up. As the story goes on, you'll understand why I chose this song. I hope you all enjoy. Remember to Read & Review.  
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Prologue**

My name is Light Kindley. People who didn't know me thought of me as a smart, respectful guy… as well as a universal target. Those who did know me, knew that I had a miserable life. My existence seemed to have no meaning. I simply existed. I was miserable because my peers didn't accept me, and it showed.

My parents loved me; no doubt about that. My social life however was another story. I Knew I was the odd man out the moment I first stepped into a classroom. The area I lived in was notorious for producing one beautiful child after another. I was unlucky however. My father and mother were considered to be very handsome and very beautiful. I think something must have gone wrong with me, because I don't Know how they ended up with a below average son like me… compared to other kids that is.

I didn't know what it was, but my peers hated me.

I never provoked any of them to do the things they did to me. Before I ever made a single friend, my younger self was subjected to pain and torment. As a young child in elementary school, I was chased to a bridge by my entire class. They cruelly threw rocks at me as they gave chase. It was like some sick game of hatred to them. It was no game to me though. The pain I felt was real. No one deserves the isolation and hate I had to endure. In the midst of my living nightmare, some good did come my way.

I managed to make three awesome friends. Chris is an unpredictable but calm guy. He often said he would conquer the world in the future. You would normally laugh at anyone who made such a claim. Not him. He had this sadistic smile that would make you believe him.

Nat was unusual and that's putting it lightly. Sometimes it was impossible to tell whether he's teasing you or trying to toughen you up. He is a loyal friend though. I'd be lying if I said he wasn't good for a laugh. He is a little diabolical but he has a good heart.

Alex is the youngest of the four of us; with me being the oldest. He is our group's technical wizard; every little group has to have one. Although all four of us are tech junkies, he is probably the most adept when it comes to anything digital. Even though these three made going through middle school bearable, they couldn't do much for me in high school.

We all didn't have the same classes so I was still persecuted harshly. We would get a class or two together every so often. Normally, it would only be a couple of us together at a time. The school days were tough for me, especially when I didn't have my friends to back me up with their support. To offer a little more group comfort I suppose, we would get together before and after school to spend some time together.

Even with my friends and family backing me up, my heart was still full of pain, anguish, and rejection. I was still lonely. I longed for someone who could take away my sadness and give me something I always thought I would never be able to experience…, love. I wanted to have someone to hold and hold me in return. I needed that special someone that Mother always said would come my way. Mother probably didn't know what was happening in my life on the surface, but I knew that she could few my inner turmoil. That was probably the reason why she kept telling me about the special someone that 'would' come my way, to give me hope for the future. That was something I desperately prayed for every night in my lonesome tears, hope that my Mother was right. Contrary to what she may think, life did not always have a happy ending. I was probably one of those that was a 'happily never after' in my future.

It wasn't until my senior year when I finally got the ray of hope I had been praying for during those torturous years. My uncle gave me an ancient relic made in the days of Alexander the Great. I absentmindedly made a wish that night while wallowing in my despair. It was merely a stray vocalized thought that a cruel act against me that day provoked. The next morning… I met her. Krystal. It was an awkward moment to say the least. I ended up knocked out and tied to my bedpost with the sharp end of her staff pointed in my face. That aside, we quickly became friends. Her arrival led to the adventure of a lifetime. The problem was that while our goal was to get her back into her own universe, I fell in love with her. Part of it might have been because she was the first girl, albeit an inter-dimensional alien vulpine girl, to ever show me any type of kindness… at all. She didn't care about who I was on the outside, but on the inside. It wasn't just a crush either… my heart absolutely ached for something I couldn't have or thought I deserved.

She laughed with me.

She helped me.

She comforted me in my depression and then some.

She was the kind of girl I had always looked for, but never found among humanity.

When it was time say goodbye, it honestly felt like my spirit was breaking and dying. I didn't want to make her choose between me and saving her family, so I didn't give her the choice. When she was past the point of no return, or so I believed, I chose that moment to reveal how I truly felt about her because I wanted to at tell her what I felt in my heart. Then the stone door shut, eternally sealing her away from us. For the next few days I felt like a prisoner of my own despair. Death would have been a merciful release from the feelings and thoughts that had entrapped me.

I had lost all hope but hope found me again. Krystal returned. As hard to understand as it was, she was in love with me too and decided to return. This should not be confused with saying that she had given up on her world or the brother she never knew. She said that she would find another way, and I believed she would. Before I knew it, I was engaged to marry her. Soon too, in accordance with Cerinian law.

Concerning the wish at the Knossos ruins, it was a closely guarded secret to her when it came to what she wished for. I didn't have to wait more than a few months to find out what she wished for. A month after the wedding… I found out about something I had previously believed to be impossible. She was pregnant. My entire perception of reality as I knew it was changed in more ways than one.

What we didn't know was that our actions had consequences. Something was coming, something malevolent. It hated us. And it was going to change our lives… forever.

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**Author's Note: I hope that ties you all over until Christmas. That is when the real story begins. Remember to R&R, whether it's to give me some advise or to tell what your favorite of it was.**


	2. Twilight Twins

**Author's Note: Hello Everybody. Chapter 1 has finally arrived. From what I have seen, there have been 6 reviews and over 90 visitors in the past week. To date, "Out of this World" has accumulated almost 21,000 hits. As for that decision I've been having trouble with, you guys still need 191 reviews before I can make that final decision. Until then, this is my present to you guys and there is nothing but good feelings in this chapter, as it should be on this day. And do you guys know what I want as a Christmas present... REVIEWS!!! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!**

**To Star Fox Runner, SpyketheWolf, and notfromearth7: Thanks. I tried my best to give as good of an exposition as I possibly could muster.**

**To KryzKrn K.: It's good to see you old friend. Thanks for pointing those mistakes out. I think I did a better job with this chapter as far as proof reading goes. I wanted to make sure this chapter was as good as possible for Christmas. And that was an interesting interpretation for the song, but I'm not going to tell you if your right or not.**

**To everyone: Enjoy the Chapter, Read & Review, and have a Merry Christmas! Remember to eat, eat, and eat some more!**

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Arc-1: A Light Eclipsed

**Chapter 1**

**Twilight Twins**

Light furiously wrote on the test paper before him. The psychology test paper was only on one chapter but it was a tough chapter. Light had studied hard for this test. Krystal had helped him study but he couldn't help the test anxiety he was having. The room wasn't very big. Its walls were a plain white and housed about thirty students. Light looked around the room with the corner of his eyes to see the expressions on everyone else's face. It seemed like he was the only in the whole classroom having test anxiety. Their faces looked so calm and confidant, it only increased his fears of not doing well on the test.

He was soon on the last couple questions when his ENV-3 cell phone started to vibrate in his pocket. He pulled it out under the table he sat in and examined the text message that was sent to his inbox. The message was from his father. Normally, his parents never called him while he was on campus. His parents were visiting Krystal since it was her day off from school and their day off from work. It was only a month after school that Light and Krystal moved out of his parent's house and into one the President provided for them himself. Light opened the message and nearly had a heart attack.

'_Light, it's your father. Krystal is in labor!' _

Light couldn't believe this was happening now of all times. He randomly filled the last couple of ovals on his test, grabbed his stuff, and almost raced to the professor's desk. He placed his test paper on top of the stack of finished papers and left the class to get to his car.

Light drove his silver corvette, also provided to them because of Krystal's diplomatic stat, to the St. Mary General Hospital. A crowd had already gathered around the entrance of the building. Light couldn't believe how fast the news travels. There were paparazzi, anthropologists, geneticists, and FBI agents who were guarding the entrance from the growing number of people. Light got out of his corvette and fought to break through the public to get in the building. A stray elbow knocked him down to the ground. It stung a little but he started to crawl through the crowd's feet to get to the double doors. He finally got through the crowd and quickly flashed his license in front of the two men in black. "My name is Light Kindley; Krystal's husband!" The two uniformed men barely made a change of expression when he introduced himself. One guard nonchalantly pulled the young man up and got in front of him while the taller guard used his intimidating physique to keep the crowd from moving past the entrance. The only ones getting past those guards were hospital staff, patients, and family of the latter.

The raven haired guard that helped Light get inside the building escorted him to the check-in counter. A curly blond haired receptionist in grass-green garb saw the two incoming visitors and put down the black pen she was using to do paperwork. Once she noticed the guard with him, she automatically assumed that he was the alien's husband. It was quite common for Light to walk around a public area by himself and no one comes to ask him any questions. Most of the media attention dealt only with Krystal. It also wasn't uncommon to see the FBI hanging around the place because they wanted to watch Krystal fulfill the promises she made to the world. How she planned on doing that, he did not know. Regardless, Light believed in his wife. There was almost no reason not to. More important and historical things were happening at the moment though. Like the birth of the first alien cross-species child. It was an anthropologists' proverbial goldmine, hence the growing crowd outside the hospital's door. "Good afternoon, are you Light Kindley?"

Light was so nervous about what was going to happen soon, that it took him a moment to register the receptionists question. "Huh? Oh! Yes, I'm Light. Can you please tell me what room Krystal is in?"

The receptionist smiled at the expectant father, "Of course. Just give me a moment." She looked at the room assignment sheet briefly before turning back to him. "She is in room 210. Just go down that hall toward the ER and you'll the maternity ward on the way. Her room is the third on the right from the waiting room." Light nodded his thanks and left in the direction the nurse pointed towards. Light followed a sky-blue hall and looked around frantically but never started running, afraid that he would knock someone down and get into some serious trouble. Soon he came upon the maternity ward sign and stepped through the door to the waiting room to find his parents, friends, and the families of other future parents.

"How is she?" That question had been hounding on him for a while now. His father was as calm and collected as ever.

"So far, so good. The doctors told us that there haven't been any complications thus far." All throughout this whole pregnancy, Light often wondered how there wasn't a single problem or complication with the baby. It was a cross-species child after all. Even if it was partly conceived by ancient magic, he still waited to see if any problems arose. None came up as far as he was able to tell. When they went to get a check-up for Krystal on her condition, the doctor told us that everything seemed normal and that health wasn't an issue either. The doctor doing the ultrasound had asked if they wanted to know anything else about the baby but the two decided to keep everything a surprise. It'd be like a Christmas to them.

Light walked to the lady overseeing the waiting room. "Excuse me, but I'd like to get inside to see my wife. My name is Light Kindley." He held up his license again to prove himself of his identity. The lady behind the glass wall pressed a button at her station to unlock the security door. Light walked inside and quickly found the room Krystal occupied. It wasn't hard. Her screams of labor pains were an excellent guide.

As soon as he came close to the door she was in, a doctor came up to him. "Excuse me, you're Light Kindley right?"

Light nodded while answering, "Yes. So how is she doing right now?" Light knew he was repeating himself but he couldn't help his worrying nature. The doctor handed him a mask before answering.

"She is doing fine," she assured him. "Her breathing is normal, and there hasn't been a single problem yet. We still need to keep watch on her vitals as we still don't now much of anything about her biology other than that she is humanoid, but her anatomy is very human-like. Please follow me." Although Light didn't really want to be exposed to the loud screams and shrieks of pain his wife was letting loose, he put his mask on and went in to see if he could comfort her. By her side was where he ought to be at the moment.

Once inside the room, he could have sworn that he could feel his ears bleeding. That scream of hers was deafening. As soon as the scream faded away, Light made for her right side and clasped her hand in his. "Are you alright Krystal?"

"Am I alright? AM I ALRIGHT?!!" Krystal's hand began to quickly crush Light's. The pain was so horrible that he couldn't even scream. His mouth just hung open like a gaping fish. Every once in a while, he'll forget how much stronger than him she is. Krystal pulled her husband closer to her face to make a point known. "If I EVER get pregnant again, I'll put you in the grave right after it's born." The pain induced anger on her face made Light freeze in fear.

"Yes dear," he murmured softly. Krystal was a scary vulpine woman. There was no doubt there. She let him slowly pull himself away from her, but their hands never let go of the other's. While the doctor's did their work, Krystal continued to grip Light's hand. Light could only watch as his hand turned colors he was certain to not be normal for a hand to exhibit. Soon, he was sure he could feel the fragile bones in his hand breaking slowly and painfully.

Out in the waiting room, Light's family and friends were getting a bit worried about what was going on in the maternity ward. Nat was probably the most impatient of the group. "What in the world is taking them so long? How many hours have we been here?" Apparently to most of the people in the room, the question was directed to Alex.

The bowl-haired boy had a bored expression fixed to his face. "Several? I don't know. I decided not to keep track."

"Dang it." Nat got up out of his seat and started pacing around the room. Chris could feel another rant coming. "This is stupid. Why don't they just have the kid and get it over with."

"Because Nat," Light's mother started. "Labor takes times. Too much pain at once could not only cause us severe injury, but also kill us. That's why it's a slow process."

"Well, I still don't like…"Before Nat could finish his sentence, the door to the maternity ward gently swung open. It was Light who opened the door, except with one new difference. His right hand was bandaged and hanging in a sling. Nat couldn't help himself but ask, "What the heck happened to you? Did you get your hand crushed by the door?"

Light gave a small chuckle, "I wish. Come on everybody, the babies have arrived."This new piece of information caught even Chris by surprise. Up until that moment, everyone believed there was only one baby.

Light's father walked up to him and asked, "How many more are there?"

Light closed his eyes and gave a broad and proud smile. "We had twins!"

Light's group followed him to Krystal's room. Everyone stopped in their tracks at what they saw. Sleeping soundly in Krystal's protective embrace were two blue and pink bundles. The babies had adorable faces. That was when the group noticed what the two actually looked like. They looked like normal human babies… except in that they inherited a couple traits from Krystal that stuck out. The both of them had their mother's ears… on top of their heads. Although Light's mother already knew the answer to the question in her head, she decided to ask anyway. "Are those ears real?"

Krystal had been in an undisturbed time of bliss the moment her children were placed in her arms. With all of the anger and pain gone, this new feeling had her in a state no one could spoil. She had children. SHE was a mother. Consciously, she didn't notice a single person in that room until Sarah spoke up. Krystal answered her mother-in-law with a toothy grin. "And a tail each."

Light's mother began to tear in happiness. "I can't believe it," she sobbed. "I finally get to be a spoiling grandmother. I'm so happy!"

Tim showed his happiness by slapping Light on the back. "Good work son. The two of you did a superb job."

Light could feel a flush of embarrassment flow to his cheeks. "Father! Stop that. It's embarrassing."

Everyone gathered around to coo over the newborns. The girl resembled her father more in that she had Light's chocolate colored hair. In comparison, the boy's hair was an electrifying azure blue. Their eye colors however, corresponded with the parent of the same gender.

Chris was the first to stop the cooing to ask the beaming mother and father an important question. "So, what are the little tike's names?"

Light looked at Krystal questioningly. The two of them hardly ever talked about what kind of names to give the children. They did play around with a few different names, but nothing ever seemed fitting for their situation. Krystal had the perfect idea for names at that moment. "I've made my decision." She turned to Light. "I'm going to name them after my doting husband. Because, if it weren't for him, I wouldn't have these two little ones in my arms." The room filled up with confused expressions.

Nat tried taking a guess at what she was naming the twins. "So, are they gonna be named Bulbette and Bulby Jr.?" Krystal's irritation suddenly flared up.

"No, you stupid little bug!"

"Geez, then what ARE you naming them."

Krystal turned the pink bundle, "The girl is Dawn." She turned to the blue bundle next. "And the boy is Dusk."

Light's father chose that moment to be slightly insightful to those who didn't fully understand. "So you named them after the twilight. Very fitting names to be honest." After the confusion was cleared up, the group went back to cooing at the twins.

Later on in the next morning, Light's mother took the liberty of taking the new family to their home while Tim drove Light's corvette to their house. Krystal was exhausted and wasn't in any condition to be driving yet. Light's hand also needed some time to heal. Regardless, the two proud parents couldn't have been happier as they watched their new son and daughter sleep soundly. Krystal looked loingly at her children and said, "Welcome to the world, my darling children."


	3. A Delightful Reunion

**Author's Note: HAPPY NEW YEARS!!! Here is the new years chapter for all of you. I hope you guys enjoyed the happy chapter from last time because things will start to get rocky from this point onwards. Also, I have a problem right now. What should be the names for for Krystal's parents. I'm up for suggestions on this one.**

**To krazykid159: I will indeed try my best for you and everyone willing to read my story.**

**To Yamagata: Maybe your right, maybe your wrong. I'm not going to tell you though. I love being so secretive.**

**To linkfx: I'm glad you enjoy reading my stories. Having Krystal with a human was something that was just so unheard of a couple years ago, that it piqued people's interest.**

**To everyone: Please enjoy your New Years chapter and remember to leave a review please. It makes me feel happy and more enthusiastic about my work. **

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Chapter 2**

**A Delightful Reunion**

Ten years after the birth of the twins, Light and Krystal's life was going smoothly. While taking care of the twins with Light's parents, Light and Krystal both graduated from college with degrees of their choosing. Light got a degree in computers and minored in writing. He managed to acquire a job in programming video games and doing the story writing for them as well. He worked on mostly two-dimensional games. He preferred the classic thirty-two bit style from when he was a kid. With three completed, not mention successful, projects under his belt, Light had a decent living with his paycheck alone. The money he made however, wasn't near as good as what Krystal made.

Krystal Graduated at the top of the class… again. She double-majored in physics and engineering. After graduation, Light's uncle Allistor got her a job in a government lab. Krystal had spent all of her work time over the course of six years working on a couple projects. She had been working on these projects so adamantly because they were supposed to be the door to finally saving her world. The key to opening that door though was Light's staff. The same one that brought her to Light's universe in the first place.

Light stirred in his sleep as the morning sun's rays started shining on his eyes. He slowly woke himself to find the other side of the bed empty. His sense of smell immediately told him why. Something nice and delicious was awaiting him downstairs. Light entered his and Krystal's walk-in closet to change into a white shirt and blue jeans. As soon as he opened the door to leave the bedroom, a small girl with shoulder length brown hair tackled him to the tan carpet floor. Light raised his head up to see his daughter sitting on his chest. "Good morning, Daddy," she spoke with a giggle in her voice.

Light smiled at her enthusiasm, "Morning Dawn. What is your mother making for breakfast?" Lighted sniffed the air and moaned hungrily. "It smells good from in here."

The little girl nodded in agreement. "Bacon, sausage, eggs, gravy, and strawberries." Dawn was wearing a black skirt that went almost to her ankles and a purple blouse with the word '_Princess_' printed on the front.

Light gave Dawn a knowing smile, "Chocolate covered strawberries, I'm guessing." Dawn nodded vigorously while licking her lips. Dawn finally got off of her father and let him pick himself up. Light wiped the invisible dust off of him and took Dawn's hand in his. "Let's go downstairs and eat Sweetie. We don't want to keep your mother waiting." She nodded as her tail happily wagged a bit.

Light walked downstairs with Dawn in tow and walked into the kitchen to find his wife putting plates on the table. Sure enough, there was Krystal's chocolate fountain in the table's center. The vulpine princess got down on the ground and started plugging in her chocolate fountain into the wall from under the table. That one appliance was Krystal's personal favorite in any world. She often used it to make chocolate truffles out of strawberries, bananas, and whatever else she deemed suitable to be covered in chocolate. You'd think it would be the chocolates he gave her on their first adventure together that would get her hooked on the fudge sweets, but no. It was that first kiss they shared that got her addicted to chocolate. The chocolate truffles Light ate in his despair, before her return, gave their first kiss a sweet and tangy kick.

Because Krystal was under the table and on her knees, Light couldn't get a clear view of her. He wasn't really paying much attention to what she was wearing when he entered the room. The only part of her visible to him was her legs, tail, and the black sweat pants she was wearing. The chocolate fountain began to flow, signaling that she finished. Krystal crawled out from under the table and gave the two before her a loving smile. Light finally noticed the emerald-colored shirt that matched her eyes. "Good morning," she said. Light gave her a smile in return. Although she may look a bit older to her own people, Krystal was still every bit as beautiful as she was ten years in the past. Her hair was grown out an inch or two past her shoulders and her body's features were more matured.

"How are you doing on the dinner for tonight?" Light asked.

Krystal started filling the plates full of food before answering. "I have every thing ordered. After breakfast we'll need to go pick up everything. Has Dusk come downstairs yet?"

Light shook his head. "No. Is Dusk still in his room, Dawn?"

"Uh huh. He was still sleeping when I saw him."

Krystal suddenly remembered something and turned from the two. "Oh, I just remembered. I forgot to start up the turkey." Krystal went to the freezer and took out the massive turkey. She filled a large pot full of water while Light and Dawn took their seats at their dining table. After putting the turkey in the water-filled pot, Krystal went to explore her cabinets for her stuffer but couldn't find it. "Light, can you ask Dusk to come downstairs? His breakfast will get cold."

"Okay." Light left the kitchen to see his son descending the stairs. He was still in his favorite black pajamas with blue flames on the edges. "Dusk, it's breakfast time." Light watched the boy with unruly hair take his last step off the stairs before looking Light in the eyes with a stoic expression.

"Dusk isn't awake yet." As strange as of a statement this would be in most families, it wasn't for Light and Krystal's.

"Oh. Well in that case, can you wake him up, Markus?" The boy's eyes furrowed at Light.

"I don't take orders from you. You're NOT my father." That sentence stung. It hurt Light to hear Marcus say that to him. Unfortunately, he learned over the years that he couldn't do much about what Marcus thought about him.

Light gave a hurt sigh. "Please, Marcus," Light pleaded. The small boy stared sternly into Light's eyes before giving a reluctant sigh and nodding. The boy closed eyes and went quiet for a second. The same boy slowly reopened his eyes like he was just returning from dreamland. The boy gave a stretch and a large yawn before giving Light a large smile that radiated warmth.

"Morning, Dad." Dusk looked around him, only now realizing where he was. He gave a slightly embarrassed smile to his father. "I guess I overslept." A delectable smell flowed into his nasal passages and into his brain. "Mmmm. What's Mom cooking this morning?" Light gave Dusk an appreciative smile.

"Plenty of good food, that's for sure. Now come on, our food is going to get cold."

Dusk nodded eagerly. He then ran past Light to get to the Kitchen table. Light watched his son leave the room and his smile melted into a sad frown. 'If only Marcus would let me reach out to him,' Light thought to himself. He breathed in and out before putting his soft smile back on and going to the kitchen.

At about six in the evening, Light and Krystal were in the process of putting two tables together against the kitchen table and getting as many chairs as possible set up around the three tables. The number of their guests that evening was going to be numerous. The two finished by setting different colored plates full of food along the center of the tables. While setting out plates and plastic forks, knives, and spoons, the door bell chimed. Light, Krystal, and the children went to the door together to greet their guests. Light opened the door and he smiled in great happiness. "Hey guys, long time no see!" Chris, Nat, Alex, and their respective families returned the welcoming expression.

Chris spoke up to represent all of the people behind the door frame. "It has been a long time, hasn't it?"

Krystal scoffed, "It's been at least, SEVEN years! Now come in, the food is ready." All three friends came in one after another with their families following closely behind.

Nat walked in first with his blonde wife Amber and his seven-year-old daughter, Melody. Light and Krystal had lost touch with their three friends over the years but Nat did send an e-mail every once in a while. One of the e-mails included his newborn daughter's name. The little girl seemed to have inherited her father's raven hair, which was in shiny curls. Krystal only hoped that she didn't inherit Nat's personality. She had always wondered what Amber saw in the man, but then she would just think about what she saw in Light. She and her husband weren't of the same species, but she loved him anyway. Love truly was blind when it came to their group of friends. Nat held up a bag to Light and Krystal, "I bought some KFC on the way over. I hope you like mashed potatoes and gravy Bulby."

Light grinned at that old nickname of his. "I guess it has been a long time. I actually missed that nickname." The twins never knew their father had such a weird nickname like that one. It was a funny name though. "Just put the mashed potatoes on the table." Nat didn't waste any time. He went to the table, put the mashed potatoes next to Krystal's chocolate fountain, and grabbed a plate to start scavenging for food he liked. His wife followed after him but Melody starting talking to the twins.

Chris, Kayla, and their six-year-old son walked in. "Hey guys," Chris simply greeted. In contrary to her husband, Kayla's greeting was more animated.

"Krystal! You have no idea how much I missed you!" Kayla gave Krystal an excited hug. Kayla pulled out of the hug and turned toward the youngest member of her family. "This is my son Drake." Chris and Drake looked at the two with the same amused smirk. The pair looked eerily similar… almost to the point of being spooky. This boy looked almost like a carbon copy of his father when he was young; his taste in clothes was different though. Where Chris wore plain grey shirt, his son wore a noticeable red and yellow striped shirt and blue jeans. The family walked inside to find a suitable place at the dinner table.

Lastly, Alex stepped up to the doorframe with his wife and seemingly tomboyish daughter. Out of their three friends, Light and Krystal had had the least contact with their youngest friend. A letter was received here and there but other than that, nothing. It truly was a reunion with this old friend of theirs. "Hey, sorry for not staying in touch much over the years. I've just been really busy. You guys wouldn't believe what a hassle it is to get a vacation off from work."

Krystal nodded thoughtfully. "I completely understand the feeling. I rarely take a day off from the lab, aside from weekends and holidays that is."

Alex returned the nod and went to introduce his family. "This is my wife, Laura, and my daughter, Valerie." Laura had long dark brown, almost black, hair. She was clothed in a red silk dress that went past her knees and matched her heels. Valerie's hair color resembled that of her mother but her attire, not to mention her short hair style, made her almost look like a little boy. She had on blue jeans and a black shirt. She also seemed to be a shy girl, judging from how she was fidgeting with her fingers. Almost as soon as Alex introduced her, the six-year-old ran past everyone to go be near the other children.

"Sorry about that," Laura said. "I'm afraid she's just really shy around strangers."Although Alex's wife wouldn't admit it, she was also a bit nervous. This was her first time meeting Krystal. What she knew of Earth's only alien resident was from either gossip or magazines and newspapers, including tabloids. Light and Krystal shook their heads to show that the girl's behavior was alright. The two stood aside to let Alex and his wife through. Krystal closed the door behind them and walked with Light to join everyone at the large, make-shift, dinner table.

After introducing Dawn and Dusk to their friends and guests, they filled their plates with food, if they already hadn't. Each of them sat beside their respective families, Chris's and Light's on one side, and Nat and Alex's on the other. While eating some of his mashed potatoes, Nat let everyone's curiosity be known. "So Krystal, how does this whole project of yours works? I heard about what it's supposed to do, but does it actually work?" Krystal was quiet at first because of the emotions that spurned within her when she thinks about her project.

This project of hers was a big deal. Not only to the people and leaders on Earth, but it was especially important to her. In less than two days time, she was going to do the impossible. "Joel and I are going to run one last test on it tomorrow to make sure all of the calculations are in order but yes, it really does work. As long as the protestors don't do anything extreme, everything will go according to schedule." Krystal's project had started a wild fire of controversy. A lot of people world wide believed Krystal was just setting them up for an easy invasion. Although that wasn't her intentions in the least, she understood their fear and didn't think too harshly of those that protested against her projects. "The machine works by taking some satellites of my own design, and using their position in space to open a wormhole in the space/time continuum to create a large doorway between Earth and Cerinia. Once the doorway is open, my machine will then pull Cerinia into the Earth's orbit. You're all welcome to come to the testing area tomorrow if you want."

"Are you sure? We wouldn't want to be a distraction for you," Kayla said unselfishly.

Krystal giggled, "Of course not. In fact, I insist on all of you coming tomorrow. I'm planning on something special for the test and I want all of you to be there to witness it." The different family units nodded their heads in agreement. Whatever Krystal was planning was bound to be something amazing.

While eating his green beans, Light felt that they needed a bit more salt. Light looked across the table to find the salt shaker out of arms length but it was next to Dusk. The nine-year-old was carrying on with little Drake, the two already becoming great friends. Dawn, Melody, and Valerie were also having a great time together. Light and Krystal's kids were bombarded with questions from the other children, with the exception of a quiet and smiling Valerie, about their fox ears and tails. "Dusk, can you pass the salt?"

The young boy's playful expression melted away slowly and his head began hang silently. His azure hair covered his eyes, preventing anyone from seeing the boy's face. He murmured something but no one could hear what he was saying. "What did you say?" Krystal stared at her son's hidden expression.

In a sudden outburst, the boy yelled out and banged a fist on the table, "YOU'RE NOT MY FATHER!!!" This reaction caused many of the table's inhabitants to stare incredulously.

Before Krystal could think about it, she scolded the boy currently in charge of the body. "Marcus, I won't allow you to speak to your father like that! Especially in front of our guests!" Before she could say anymore, Marcus had already sat up from his seat and started running up the stairs. Light and Krystal turned their attention from their retreating son to the many puzzled stares that were pointed at them.

Light decided it was best to tell his friends their problem. "Nat, Chris, Alex," Light said to get his friends attention. "Can you guys follow me upstairs for a minute?" Light got out of his seat and walked up the stairs to his and Krystal's bedroom. Light's friends shared a look of silent agreement before getting up to follow their friend.

Alex was the last one in so he took the liberty of closing the door behind him. Nat was the first to ask, "What's going on here? All I wanted to do was come and have a nice dinner, witness history in the making, and go home to sleep without anything weird happening."

Chris, who normally wasn't all that surprised by anything, took a great deal of interest in what had happened not too long ago. "Do you have an explanation for this?"

"Yeah," interjected Alex. "One moment the kid was happy and laughing, then he turned into something like an angry zombie. And what did he mean by…'you're not his father.'"

Light sighed, "Calm down you guys. I do have a decent explanation of this. Krystal and I were hoping that we wouldn't have to explain this little problem of ours, but I guess there was no way around it. The two of us don't know when this might have started, it was probably at birth, but Dusk also has a form of multiple personality disorder."

Alex gave Light a furrowed look to show that he still didn't quite understand. "Does that mean he has something similar to what you had before Knossos?"

"If only it was that easy," Light said in exasperation. "No. What's happening to Dusk is something so different and strange. We went to have some tests done on him, but the doctor couldn't find a single abnormality, partly because Dusk's other self, which it had deemed itself as Marcus, didn't reveal himself on purpose. So after a while, Krystal and I did a little investigation. You guys do remember what game series Krystal came from, don't you?"

Chris responded by saying, "Of course we remember. It was the Starfox series. What does that have to do with any of this though?"

Light sat down and turned his gaze to the floor. "Well, even though the people at Nintendo know Krystal's true identity, they continued the series. As they continued the series, they decided to keep her as Fox's romantic interest." Light raised his head to make sure he had his friend's full attention before continuing. "After doing some research, I found that in the last Starfox game they made multiple endings depending on the player's choice of path. In one of those endings…, Krystal and Fox were married and had a son named Marcus!" Light gave his friends a moment to process this paradox in their heads.

Nat, as well as the others, understood what was being said, but were already going over the contradictions involved. "So… Dusk AND Starfox's Marcus are inhabiting the same body?"

Light nodded in response. "I think so."

Nat whistled, "How are you and Krystal handling that?"

Light sighed, "It hasn't been easy. It's actually been half-and-half. Markus loves Krystal; he is her son either way. Me however, he only resents. I can't really blame him though. If he truly is Fox's son, then he probably has every right to resent me. I've tried to get close to him but every time I do, he says the same thing he said downstairs. It hurts. Even though he doesn't see me as his father, I see him as my son…, if you can call having two sons in the same body normal that is. It hurts all the same though."

Light's friends could see that this was a grandfather of a complication. Then again, Light has never had small problems for as long as they've known him. Alex chose to be the one to break the silence. "Well, I wish you good luck on this problem, but I think it's time for us to leave and go to our hotel."

"Thanks," Light stood up and felt good to be able to confide in his old friends again. They left the room and went down stairs to find Krystal conversing with their friends' wives about their problem with Marcus. Admittedly, she probably told them much fewer details. Light and Krystal gave their friends and their families a goodbye while Dawn said goodbye to all of her new little friends. Dusk had apparently not come down since Marcus's outburst.

As they watched their friends leave in their vehicles, Light and Krystal closed the door and turned to each other. Krystal sighed exhaustedly, "What are we going to do about Dusk and Markus?" Light wanted to give her an answer, but he couldn't find one.

"I wish I knew. For now, let's just leave them in their room. Dusk and Marcus probably need some time to themselves."

In Dusk's room, the boy was laying down in his bed with his eyes closed. While to most people it would seem that he was sleeping. In actuality, Dusk was in the middle of an internal argument with Marcus. 'Why did you do that!?' Dusk questioned angrily in his mind.

'Because it's true,' Marcus countered. 'That man downstairs with our mother, is not our true father.'

'You're wrong! He's my Dad and like it or not, he is YOURS too!'

'AND YOU'RE WRONG!!! My father is someone strong, smart, confidant, and nothing like that… that… FAKE!!! Mom does NOT belong to him!'

Before Marcus could finish what he was saying, Dusk mentally cut himself from the conversation and started sobbing. "You're wrong," he whispered to reassure himself. "You're wrong." Dusk started digging deeper to bury himself under his bed sheets to get to sleep quicker, before he could start crying the tears he was holding back.


	4. Krystal's Test

**Author's Note:**** Hello everybody. I'm glad to bring you chapter 3 today. I must say that I really like the review progression we've got going here. You guys only need 178 more until I make that final decision for what I'm going to do with this series. I'm also glad that some of you responded to the problem I'm having with the names of Krystal's parents. Enjoy the chapter and remember to Read and Review!  
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**To Northern_megas: You may not know this yet, but I tend to be very secretive with my stories. I do this partly to keep the masses on edge and coming back for more. I can say that one of your questions will be answered in this chapter. The other answers your looking for will be answered fairly soon as well in coming chapters.**

**To Raven X-100: I'll have to agree with you on the chapter being a bit choppy. Reintroducing the characters ten years later was the biggest reason for this. Trying to keep the flow of a story together while introducing and reintroducing characters is a big hassle. Unfortunately, this may happen again as the story is still only at the beginning. However, I think a did a decent job for handling it as well as I did, but I do agree that it wasn't top tier. Thankfully, it was mostly just that one scene.**

**To SpyketheWolf & notfromearth7: Thank you very much. I do want you and everyone to note that Marcus and Dusk inhabiting the same body has nothing to do with Dusk's name. It had to be the boy. The characterization progression just wouldn't be the right course if it was Dawn and Marcus inhabiting the same body. Same gender, same body.**

**To STARFOXLOVER61900: Thank you, my stories appreciate the love. As for being in one of my stories, that may be difficult for several reasons. For one thing, after I finish this novel, I'm going to move on to become a published author. That is unless you all meet that 197 review count. However, even though I plan on being a published author soon, I do not plan on quitting fanfiction. I just won't be doing as much for it. Now, if you really want to be in one of my stories, just leave me your first name (only) and I'll get back to you later on what I'll do. Just to let you know, I might have something in mind, but I can't give a guarantee.**

**To KryzKrn K.: I hold absolutely no malice towards you. Also, I didn't think that at all, I KNEW your response would come sooner or later. Reguarding Dusk, it won't be near as hectic as you might think. The two don't really battle for control over their body. The two have something of a joint aggreement with eachother when it comes to control, as you'll see in the future. Great emotions of one over the other can induce a switch, as you have already seen. This actually occurs to a degree with people who have schizophrenia, just not as organized as Dusk and Marcus.**

**To Yamagata:**** I'm not sure about Vladimir, but Leila sounds like a really good name. It's better than what I thought up.**

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**Chapter 3**

**Krystal's Test**

The morning after their friends had come over was blissful. Krystal was the first to wake up from sleep's peaceful embrace. Her eyes fluttered open to see Light's sleeping form next to her. He looked so calm and peaceful next to her when he slept. She kissed his forehead and got out of the bed to put on a robe she had laying next to her side and over the side of the bed. She wrapped and tightened the sash of her ruby-colored robe before moving to their great oak closet. Krystal opened it and reached into the highest shelf to pull out a safe box she had kept for nearly ten years. In one day, she was going to do something she had only previously dreamed of. This day however, would prove to be a very personal one as well. Krystal grabbed an object out of the safe box and observed the silk material it was wrapped in. She pulled it close to her for a silent prayer before putting the object back into its confines. She then grabbed a blue blouse with a tsunami-like pattern and indigo slacks. Normally, she didn't want to overdo it with the blue, but today was a very special occasion to her. She then retreated to the bathroom to take a shower so she could freshen up.

Light woke up feeling more tired than usual. He, just like his friends, had yet to see or learn much of anything about Krystal's big invention. His anxiousness had kept him from sleeping very much. Light gave a long yawn and stretched his arms high in the air. He heard the sound of their private bathroom's knob turning to reveal his fully freshened up wife. "Morning, Krystal," he greeted tiredly.

"Morning, Dear," she kindly greeted to her newly awakened husband. "You need to get yourself and the kids washed and dressed. We have a big day today."

Light nodded. "I got it. Leave everything to me, Krystal". Krystal grinned at the readiness of her exhausted husband.

"Good. While you take care of them, I'll go make a call to my boss." Krystal went to descend the stairs while Light went inside each of their children's' rooms. Krystal found her night-black cell phone on the kitchen counter next to the snowman cookie jar. She held down the power button to turn it on and pressed "8" on her speed dial to reach her boss. She waited a couple seconds before hearing a craggy '_hello_' come from the other end. "Hello, Mr. Laken."

'_Good morning Krystal, how are you this morning?'_ Krystal sat herself on the kitchen counter while she took this call.

"I'm very good this morning Mr. Laken, thank you. Is Joel at the lab right now?"

'_Yeah. He arrived about a half an hour ago. I believe he's already configuring the machine as we speak.'_ Krystal nodded even though she knew her boss couldn't see the action.

"Good. Tell him to not to calibrate it until I arrive with my friends and family." Mr. Laken didn't really like the sound of this. It wasn't that he didn't like having guests visiting the lab. He was just concerned about safety precautions. He also knew Krystal was the authority when it came to her machine, so her word topped his. It was the project of the century, but the only ones who could figure out how to use it as of yet was Krystal and Joel. But then Joel didn't even know completely how the machine worked, so Krystal was really the only one fully qualified to operate it. Still, the higher ups wanted to keep a human on this project as well, even if it was just assigning a lab assistant to her.

'_I'll be sure to tell him. Just please don't cause any injuries. What with all of controversy, the last thing the lab needs right now is a law suit.'_ Krystal sighed in frustration.

"I get it. I get it. And don't worry. Even if there is an injury or two, the guests I'm bringing are close friends of mine so there shouldn't be any threats of a suit against us." Krystal said this with playful smile and a light chuckle to her voice.

'_Ugh… I'm sorry if that didn't reassure me. Well, I guess I'll see you at the lab.'_ Krystal propelled herself off of the counter and walked to her snake-skin purse on the kitchen table.

"Bye. See you there." Krystal ended the call and walked over to their fridge. Nat and all of the others called late last night to tell them their hotel's phone number. Krystal dialed the number she had hanging by a magnet, spoke with the hotel receptionist, and heard a yawn. It was Nat. "Hey, this is Krystal."

'_And this is something called sleep. Do you mind letting me get back to it?_'

"While normally I would 'yes' since just seeing your face makes me want hurt you, I'm afraid that you must get up and arouse everyone else. I'm going to the lab now, so you better get there soon. I believe I already gave you the address, didn't I?"

'_You did._'

"Alright then, see you all there." She finished up the call and put her cell phone inside her snake-skin leather purse. She walked to the kitchen entrance to see Light and the kids coming down the stairs dressed and freshened up. Light and Dusk wore some white dress shirts and khaki pants while her daughter had on a yellow sun dress.

Light turned his gaze to Krystal when he saw her. "Are you ready to go, Krystal?"

"Mostly. Just give me a minute and I'll be fully ready." Her family watched as she raced up the stairs to momentarily disappear from sight. Krystal walked inside her and Light's bedroom and went straight to her safe box. After sifting through it briefly, she found the object she had clasped to her bosom earlier that morning. She replaced it into her purse and went downstairs to find everyone waiting on her. "I'm ready," she proclaimed as she walked past the other three. She and the children got inside the passenger seats, and Light got in the drivers seat to drive them all to the lab.

Once they arrived at Quasar Labs, Light parked in Krystal's reserved parking space and the four got out of the vehicle. The outside of the lab looked like a black-marble trapezoid with a glass dome as a center piece. They walked to the entrance and found the security guard standing in front of the door eating a long-john. "Good morning, Mrs. Kindley." Krystal gave a friendly smile to the guard and replied to him as she flashed her security clearance card.

"Good morning to you too, Eric. How's the baby?" Eric beamed and instantly pulled out his wallet, which unfolded about ten times to show the many pictures of his baby girl.

"Oh, she is the most wonderful little girl in this darling world! She's a perfect little angel and she's Daddy's little girl!" Krystal liked Eric. His was a strange character. While he was normally a serious fellow, the man was obsessed with proving how marvelous his little one-year-old daughter was to the world. He was a freak, to put it simply. But he was a kind freak. "Oh! Sorry about my rambling. So tomorrow is the big day, huh?"

"Yep. Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I'm having some guests joining me today for the final testing. So if anyone asks about me, please let them in."

"Yes Mrs. Kindley." With that conversation over, Krystal and her family walked inside the building. As they walked through the halls, the children looked in awe at the incredibly clean and pristine building. This was theirs and their father's first time ever in being in Krystal's workplace. Dawn and Dusk looked through the windows on the walls to see different scientists and engineers performing various kinds of tests and working with different projects. Krystal's however, was the pride of Quasar Labs. After walking for a few brief minutes, the family unit reached a white door with a biometric scanner fixed midway up on the door's right side. Krystal slid her identification card in a magnetic card slot above the scanner and put her eyes level with the scanner. The kids watched in amazement as a blue laser covered their mother's eyes.

Once the scan was complete and the door opened, Krystal felt a tug at her shirt. She looked down to see Dawn staring at her. "Momma, does that laser-thing hurt?" Dusk had the same questioning look as his twin sister.

"No Sweetie. It does feel a little irritating to my eyes though." They nodded in as much understanding as possible and were led through the doorway by their parents. The room looked like the inside of a white cylinder. In the middle of the room, was another smaller room with tempered, glass viewing walls. As they walked in, they saw Krystal put on a white lab coat that was on a hanger waiting for her. As Krystal finished buttoning her coat and the kids looked around at huge array computerized equipment, Light saw Krystal's assistant typing away at a computer station. Light had only seen Joel a handful of times; they had invited him over for dinner a couple of those times.

Light walked up to the man and announced his presence. "Morning, Joel." Joel turned his attention away from the glaring screen and looked directly at Light. Joel was rather young; he was only twenty-four and had been at the labs as an assistant since his work study program at his university. His hair was long, dark, and messy. His hair seemed to be styled to point in every possible direction. His face revealed his youth though. His voice also sounded young, especially with his British accent. At the age of twenty-four, he didn't look more than seventeen. Light had also managed to hold most of his youthful looks from when he was nineteen. Light's features had sharpened out quite a bit, but he still mostly looked like the old Light Krystal had fallen in love with ten years ago.

"Ah, hello again Light. It's been a few months since the last time we talked. Are you here to witness the final testing?"

Light nodded to confirm the reason for his visit. "Yep. The kids and I, as well as some old friends of ours, are eager to finally see this project you two have been working on."

"Well for starters, look over there and you'll see the machine itself." Light walked over to the viewing window to see the machine Krystal had been talking about for all the years she's been working on it. The base of the machine looked pentagonal from Light's viewing position but he wasn't so sure. The pentagonal base had bundles of wiring plugged into all five sides. Each of those bundles wound their way into the computer stations surrounding it, Joel was already at one when Light spoke to him. The top half looked like a three foot tall icy-blue pyramid with a diamond pattern, vibrantly shining like silk on each panel.

Light whistled in astonishment at his wife's invention. "Now that is a beauty."

"It sure looks amazing, Bulby." There was only one person in the whole world who called him that, even as full grown adults.

Although Krystal normally flinched at the sound of his voice, Krystal was glad to hear it this time around. "Good morning, everyone. I see you all notice my little machine over there. Well come on in everybody, and gather around. As soon as I finish helping Joel calibrate the machine, we'll be ready to power it up and see what happens."

While Krystal sat herself at a computer terminal, Alex raised a question he was curious about. "What are you using to power up this machine. I mean, you're going to need something pretty darn powerful if you intend on ripping reality."

"Limb from limb, if you want to get down to it," Chris added in.

"True. We did need to get something more powerful than a neutron bomb, but without the danger of radiation or death." Krystal pressed a few buttons and flipped some switches. She turned her attention to the machine, as did everyone else in the room. A few inches of the pyramid's top split from the point downward to reveal something that Light, Nat, Chris, and Alex hadn't seen since graduation from college. It was a very familiar sapphire. Krystal had never talked about her machines power source before; Light had to ask a question for which he already knew the answer to.

"Krystal, is that the sapphire from my staff?" Krystal nodded.

"Not just the sapphire, but the whole staff is built into the machine. As I had found out in our last adventure, and through a little bit of research, we were finally able to tap into quite a bit of its power. We can harness its dimension ripping magic through my machine and, with a few extra variables in place; we should be able to pull just about anything from almost any dimension imaginable. Basically, we are doing the same thing Light did to bring me to this world but on a bigger, celestial scale this time. And don't worry about Joel Light, I've already told him the whole story." Krystal gave her husband a confidant smirk.

"And I must say, quite a story it was," Joel chirped happily at his terminal. Other than Nat, Chris, and Alex, their wives and families were terribly confused about what was being said so they chalked it all up to being some sort of inside story.

"So Krystal," Chris began. "Have you decided on a name for this machine of yours?"

Krystal stopped typing, closed her eyes, and nodded. "I have. I call it the Azure-Light. I like to think of it as a lighthouse that guides whatever is being pulled through the rift, to where it's supposed to go. With the Azure-Light and some satellite scanners of my own design, you're going to see the birth of a new era. Well, I hope that's enough explanation for now. It's time to get this show on the road." Krystal resumed her typing, as did Joel, and everyone could hear the beginnings of a whirring sound. The large group turned their attention to the Azure-Light and watched as it began to whir to life.

Krystal noticed an energy spike on her monitor but didn't think much of it when the strange readings went back to normal in a split second. Once the readings became stable Krystal got up to walk to the blast doors that separated the anxious crowd from the inner room with the machine inside. Krystal watched with bright eyes as she thought about what she was about to try to accomplish. Joel interrupted her hopeful thought, "Krystal, the Azure-Light is now fully operational. We have a dimensional link established. What do you want me to do now?"

Krystal stared off into space for a moment before getting her mind straightened out. "Oh, yes. Excuse me while I fetch something real fast." Krystal grabbed her purse and rummaged through it to get the object she had placed inside of it before leaving the house.

As the entire crowd watched her do this, no one noticed an electrical charge building up inside the sapphire. Before anyone could react, the electrical charge flew itself in Joel's direction. The charge rode along the electrical parts at Joel's station and started to violently invade his body. Krystal's assistant started convulsing spastically and they all watched as the sheer force sent him flying through the air in an arc with the electrical charge follow his form to the cold ground. Light and Krystal were at his side in a moment's notice. Light checked his pulse and found that he was very much alive. The young lab assistant looked at his partner's husband. "Joel! Are you alright?!"

The young man put a hand to his head. "I… think so. I have a huge headache though, what was that?"

Krystal walked over to her station and found the cause. Krystal turned back to Joel and Light. "I'm sorry Joel, I'm afraid this is all my fault. There was a spike in the energy readings for a split second, but I ignored it. Apparently, that spike made several changes in the calibration."

Joel just shook his head. "No worries. There doesn't seem to be any real harm done. Let's just continue with the testing." Light helped Joel try to get up, but the younger man staggered on his feet and almost collapsed. Light and Krystal caught him by the shoulders.

"Are you sure you don't want to go to the infirmary?" Light asked cautiously.

"Yes, I'm sure. We must continue the experiment. The fate of tomorrow's festivities is on the line." Light and Krystal helped Joel over to his station while Krystal sat in a seat next to him. They did some recalibrations and Krystal turned her head to the other families, as well as her own.

"I want all of you to stand back just in case something else unusual occurs." They all decided it was best to follow her advice and stepped back. The children had to be held by their parents to get a better view. Then a thought popped into Light's head.

"Krystal, how are you going to find out for sure if the machine works or not?" Krystal stopped typing and turned to her husband with a sanguine smile.

"Why, my dear husband. I'm so glad you asked." Krystal revealed an object wrapped in a silk cloth from her hand. She kept the same facial expression locked onto her face, while she removed the silk from what looked to be a mini disk. Light watched with confusion as Krystal popped the small disc into the computer's disc drive. Krystal wasn't putting in the disc that would save her world until the next day… so what disc was that? Then it clicked. Just like with his staff, Light forgot that Krystal had kept and safe guarded one other thing from their adventure to the Knossos ruins. It was back when Krystal got to meet the creator of her side of the Starfox universe. Chris Stamper. That disc was the unfinished Dinosaur Planet, and trapped inside of it was… Light's eyes widened in realization.

As the sapphire at the top glowed brilliantly, the Azure-Light's pyramid panels opened up from the base to reveal distortion regulators. Krystal had told Light about this part of the project. The regulators were designed to keep a stable dimension gate open. According to what Krystal had been telling them, Light guessed that after the satellites formed the gate, the Azure-Light would use the sapphire's magic to do the job of pulling out whatever was being pulled out. The whole inner room started to as blue as Krystal's fur and a circular gate of the same color formed in front of the machine, thanks to a stationary version of her satellites. The occupants of the lab room watched in amazement as a figure was forced through the portal and landed on the floor. Krystal shut down the machine frantically and looked on in front of her. Slowly but surely, an expression of pure happiness spread over her being.

With his mouth agape, as well as everyone else's, Light couldn't believe his eyes. "Sabre," Krystal breathed out quietly.


	5. O' Brother of Mine

**Author's Note:**** Here you go everyone! School has started up for me, but that won't change our uploading schedule. This will be an interesting one, and it will give you an idea for what's going to happen in the future. Oh, and one more thing. There is one scene in this chapter that may give the impression that the story is being political, but it's not. It's just supposed to give a little background information on the universe Light and Krystal live in. Once again, this is one 1 of 2 paragraphs in the whole story that includes even little bit of politics at all. So please don't misjudge this fic because of that one paragraph because it means little to nothing right now anyway.  
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**To KryzKrn K.: Don't worry about the original game thing; I had that one figured out months ago.**

**To STARFOXLOVER61900: Well, I can't guarantee anything. But if something works out, I'll let you know.**

**To SpyketheWolf: Now that's a weird coincidence. I got the name from one of the members of roosterteeth.**

**To Northern_megas: I'm not going to say whether they do or not, but don't be surprised if such a thing occurs.**

**To Star Fox Runner: Joel will become an important part of the story, and the electricity... well, your gonna have to wait a while to see the reason for that.

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**Chapter 4**

**O' Brother of Mine**

The people in the lab room could only look at the new occupant with awe, even as he fell to a plop on the ground. The figure that appeared out of the Azure-Light's portal was clearly someone who looked to be of kinship to Krystal. He, just like Krystal, had cobalt fur and indigo hair. He wore the bottom half of a black tunic but nothing on top, leaving him with a bare chest. His tail could be seen coming out of a hole that looked to be ripped open, suggesting that the tunic bottom was made from scratch. Strapped to his back was a golden staff, not unlike Krystal's own but with some distinguishing features. Unlike Krystal's staff, his had fan-like blade at the lowest end. His hair-line stopped at about three inches less than Krystal's and his bangs looked like they were spiked towards the center of his brow. His eyes were the same emerald color as Krystal's, leaving no room for doubt that this man was Krystal's brother; inter-dimensionally removed of course.

To say that he was befuddled was an understatement. The male vulpine looked around the room, not knowing what to think. Krystal opened the doors that separated them from the new visitor and revealed herself to the unsuspecting sibling. Their eyes locked and a smile spread across their features.

"Krystal!" He ran up to her and pulled her into the tight hug. A warm and loving smile graced Light's features as he watch his wife being united with her long lost brother; for Sabre however, it was a reuniting experience. He looked her over, as did she to him, while commenting, "I can't believe I finally found you. Look at you. You look great and… you look older… and you're a fox?!" Krystal expected this. During her regular e-mails with Chris Stamper, He had told her that her original design was based on a feline figure.

"I know. But instead of wondering at my looks, you ought to really look at yourself first." Krystal went to her purse and got her compact. She walked back to her confused brother and opened it to show him his reflection in the small mirror. His surprise was unmistakable. His hand came up to his cheek to feel the startling changes to his face. He looked at his body and noticed the other vulpine features.

During her e-mails with their creator in this world, Krystal had Chris show her how to do a little bit of graphical reconfiguring. One of the first things she did when she graduated from college with Light was reconfiguring the data on her brother's graphical appearance. She made sure to use data that was similar to her own. Chris told her about the changes they were forced to make when the original game was under development but eventually scrapped and changed.

"But… how did this happen?" He looked back at her, "How did all of this happen to you?" For the first time in the last few minutes, Sabre noticed his immediate surroundings, "What is all of this?" Sabre didn't notice all of the other occupants because the windows that separated the inner-room from the outer were one-way viewing windows. Light and the others could see them, but Krystal and Sabre couldn't from the inside. Krystal put a comforting hand her brother's shoulder and she spoke to him in a hushed voice.

"Don't worry. I'll explain everything to you. I'll answer some of your answers now, and the rest later… in private preferably. To answer your first few questions though, we're on a planet called Earth." She had to be careful with what she said because of the other people observing this conversation… until she remembered that she could turn off the audio feed. Before Sabre could get a word in, Krystal put a finger to his lips to shut him up. "Just wait one moment Sabre." Krystal began speaking to the air as far as Sabre could tell. "Hey Joel, do you mind shutting off the audio feed for a little while. I want to have a private conversation with my brother, if you don't mind."

'_No, there's no problem with me Mrs. Kindley. You're the boss here.'_ And with that said, Joel turned off all audio feed coming from the inner-room. Sabre was slightly startled to hear a strange voice, but he was absolutely shocked to here the voice say 'Mrs.'

"Tell me what is going on here, sister," Sabre firmly demanded. He wanted answers, and he wanted them right there and now.

"Well, for starters, I have no memories of you. And I'm ten years older from whenever it was that you last saw me." To sabre, these statements seemed so contradicting to say the least. His eyes told her that he didn't understand what she was trying to say. "I was afraid of this." Krystal walked over towards the door, but went to rest her back on the wall that was to the door's left and sat on the floor. She patted the space on her left, "Come here and sit beside me, we have a lot to talk about." Sabre did as she said, and went on for around fifteen or twenty minutes with a brief explanation on what was going on.

Waiting outside in the outer room, the rest of Krystal's party conversed among themselves about various things. The project's success, the new alien visitor, and the coming day that was soon to be upon them. The kids played, except for Dawn and Dusk who went to their father to do a little questioning of their own. Dawn took a handful of Light's shirt and tugged at it impatiently. "Daddy, who is that man talking to Momma?" Light looked down at his children with a smile.

"He's family kids. That man is your uncle Sabre." He watched as the kids eyes grew big enough to qualify them as bug-eyed. Light got down to eye-level with them. "He and your mother need some time alone together to talk about a few things and catch up with one another. It may be a while, so how about you guys stay here and I go to the cafeteria to get us some grub?" His kids nodded their heads vigorously. They did feel rather hungry, seeing as how they hadn't had any breakfast all morning.

"Hold on there. We're with you too," Alex stated, for Chris, Nat, and himself. As Light went to leave the room, with his three oldest friends following him, Dawn and Dusk went to play tag with the other kids.

Out in the hall, Nat walked up to Light to voice his worries. "Hey Light, aren't you the tiniest bit worried about this?"

The man in question turned to face his friend with a raised eyebrow. "Worried? About what exactly?"

Chris brought himself into the conversation next. "About what will happen when Sabre finds out that you and Krystal are married?" Light stopped for a moment to look at his friends. They did have a point. Light wasn't too sure how Sabre was going to react to them being together. He decidedly shrugged any discouraging thoughts out of his head. He hoped Sabre wouldn't have too much of a problem with them being together. Unfortunately, Light's hope for this was for naught.

Back in the inner room, Sabre carefully absorbed the information and tried to get as much comprehension on this strange situation as possible. "I can't believe it. I'm a program in this world? That's just… insane."

"As insane as it is, it's true. But it isn't all bad. Even though we're programs in this world, we are still flesh and blood. We are still very real." Krystal had told her brother of their origins, both in this world and in the game world. She also told him of Earth, its people, and its cultures. And she weaved a condensed version of her adventure to go home… and her eventual decision to stay.

"It's just so hard to believe. I mean, we lost our world!" He had tears in his eyes over all of this depressing information. To him, it was like his entire existence was a lie. Krystal couldn't blame him for feeling this way. She had similar feelings about this when she learned the truth. Then he began to become angry. "And you married one of these… furless aliens?! And you had CHILDREN by him?! Krystal, that's sick!" For a moment, Krystal glared passionate daggers at her brother.

She stood up with intent to defend Light. "Now listen here, if it wasn't for this 'furless alien,' we wouldn't have been able to get a chance to be united like this. If it wasn't for him, I would have never been able to find a way to save our world."

"Hmph, don't you mean your world? I don't have a world, remember." Understandably, he was having a harder time accepting the reality of the situation than her, what with his unique circumstances.

"But you do have a world, one with a mother and a father who would probably be ecstatic to see us." Krystal had also found out that in the original game, the only family their original selves had was their grandfather. She remembers having a grandfather, so that part of her life was there, but wasn't the same experience as his. Sabre looked at his sister, or new sister depending on how you look at it, with hopeful eyes.

"Do you really think so?" Krystal's eyes softened at his worry.

"I know so." Krystal cupped her brother's hands in hers and began to plead with him. "Now please promise me that you'll at least be a little nice to my husband. Please promise me that." Sabre's eyes fell as he submerged himself deep in thought. He quietly weighed the pros and cons.

"Alright, I'll do my best." Krystal sighed in relief. It wasn't a lot, but it was better than nothing.

"Good. Now get up." She gave her brother a proud grin. "I want to introduce you to your niece, nephew, and brother-in-law." She offered him her hand and he accepted it graciously. Krystal turned to the exit and turned to her brother before pressing a glowing green button that opened the door. "Remember, we have a cover story to uphold, so be sure to remember those fictitious facts I told you about." Her brother reluctantly nodded. He was skeptical about this whole cover story, but it seemed like Krystal had managed with it well during her time there. He thought that maybe even meeting her husband wouldn't be so bad. It looked like Krystal had pretty high authority on this planet, as it should be. He wondered how high up this mystery man was on the social and political ladder.

Krystal opened the door and led her brother to the outer-room. Once in the presence of the other occupants, Sabre immediately scanned the people his sister called 'humans.' Everyone in the room had also turned their attention to the new alien. To his mind, they were an interesting looking people. They had smooth skin, and they weren't entirely furless. Their hair might not really qualify as fur, but they weren't bald as Sabre had imagined them. He could quickly tell which humans were male or female, seeing as how their physical features did seem to be a little similar to Cerinians. He didn't see any humans that would have looked like they were of the same status as his sister. But then he saw one male human with a welcoming smile on his face and two children hiding behind his legs. The children peeked their eyes from behind the human's legs and looked up to meet the vision of the man Sabre assumed to be their father. The man nodded to them and the kids jumped from behind him and lunged at Sabre while yelling gleefully in unison, "UNCLE SABRE!!!"

The two young kids hugged his legs tightly, not knowing that their uncle was reeling from the discovery that these two were his niece and nephew. Sabre returned his gaze to the man before him in startling realization. The man his little sister married was not only the furless alien his sister had married… he was a plebian.

Light walked up to Sabre and offered him his hand. Sabre shook Light's hand as if in caution. Light noticed this but decided to not say anything in front of the guests. "Welcome to Earth. In case Krystal didn't say anything about me during your conversation, my name is Light Kindley." Light hesitated for a moment before saying his next sentence. "I'm Krystal's husband." Although Krystal couldn't see it from her position, Light noticed the side of Sabre's lip twitch when he said that. Light turned around and pointed to the rooms other occupants. "These are mine and Krystal's friends and their families." Light tried to not be nervous, but he was sure that he could feel Sabre's gaze drilling into the back of his head. It was definitely going to be a long day. Krystal's assistant came walking to him and Sabre, and the nervous Light couldn't have been more relieved.

"Good day, my name is Joel Howard. I'm your sister's assistant." Sabre nodded and took his hand without any of the tension like there was between him and Light. "I take care of all of the little things in this lab that Krystal doesn't time to deal with herself." Sabre decided that he liked Joel well enough. Then he felt a tug at his pants and saw the little children looking up at him.

"My name's Dawn," said the little girl with shining chocolate-brown hair.

"And I'm Dusk. There's also Markus, but he's asleep right now. He likes to stay in bed most of the time. And he's pretty mean to everyone except Momma. I don't like him very much, but he's still my brother. So I love him." said the azure-haired boy. Sabre couldn't help but wonder at this statement. It was apparent that Krystal was keeping something from him, but he decided to wait and ask her about this later. He looked between the two kids and felt the need to give them a big hug. He did hug them… and it felt right. The two kids started asking questions rapidly, encouraging the other children to do the same. Light's friends and their wives also went up to ask him their questions. Mostly about Cerinia and his childhood.

Light stood to the side, and watched as everyone enjoyed themselves in welcoming the new inter-dimensional visitor. Krystal saw Light on the other side of the room and went to stand next to him. As she came up beside him, she saw the many wrappers that lay on a nearby table along with one remaining egg sandwich. "I see that you and everyone had breakfast."

Light nodded, "We saved you something to eat for breakfast." Krystal turned to the table and lifted the sandwich off the table. She unwrapped the plastic wrapping and took a bite while watching her husband's solemn expression. She didn't know what she could say to him but he started the conversing first. "I don't think your brother likes me very much." It was a sad statement that held no animosity or anger.

She stayed quiet for a second before giving a response. "Just give him a little bit of time, he just needs to sort out all of the information I gave him. I think he's just being a little overprotective, even though he knows we're married to each other. I don't know. Just don't worry about it; I'm sure he'll come around to liking you." Light gave a tired sigh.

"I hope your right."

After Light and Krystal's friends and families introduced themselves, they all left the lab as a group and exited the building. Joel stayed behind so he can shut down the computers, equipment, and lock up the lab. The expression on Eric's face was priceless when Krystal introduced her brother. The poor security guard nearly went into cardiac arrest, even more so when she told him Sabre was her brother. The man was used to seeing Krystal around, and was waiting impatiently for tomorrow's experiment, but the man never imagined how well Krystal's device could work. He could hardly believe that he was standing in front of TWO royal family members of another planet. Eric had moved away from them to give a well meaning, but completely unnecessary salute to the new alien visitor on Earth. Before leaving, Krystal gave Eric a note and said, "Give this to the boss, and remember to show him the security tapes for today's testing and that of my brother here." He nodded to her and took the note.

"Have a good day Mrs. Kindley." The large group of people split from there to enter their individual vehicles and leave to wherever they were staying for the night. During the drive to the Kindley homestead, Sabre observed this strange new world in wonder. It wasn't entirely different from Cerinia. There was the same blue sky, trees, and there were many buildings. It was obviously a less advance planet, but the simplicity was amazing in of itself. Light, Krystal, Sabre, and the twins arrived to the house and they went inside.

As they entered their house together, Krystal turns to her brother and family behind her. "Now that we are home alone together, how does an afternoon meal sound to all of you?"

The children threw their arms in the air and yelled out "YAY!" Krystal nodded and moved over to Light, who was just closing the front door. She started whispering something in Light's ear, but everyone else could still hear what she was telling him due to their fox ears.

"Listen. While I make dinner, I want to you get to know my brother better. It would mean a lot to me if you two got along well." Light nodded.

"I'll try my best." Krystal pecked Light on the lips and went to the kitchen to start cooking a meal. The children went upstairs to their rooms to play, leaving Light alone with Sabre in the living room. An awkward silence could be felt emanating around the room. Light's nervousness could be seen through the profuse nervous sweating on his brow and cheeks. The snake eyes he was getting from Sabre wasn't making the situation any more comfortable. Light opened his mouth to break the ice with Krystal's brother, but Sabre silenced him with a hand raised to his face.

"I don't want to hear it from a plebian," Sabre hissed through his teeth and fangs. Sabre went to the nearest available seat, which was the black recliner in the living room, and sat himself down. All the while, his glower stayed firmly on his face. Light frowned and sat down in his burgundy love seat. Light kept his eyes looking around the room and tried to avoid Sabre's focus. His eyes did stray a little to see what Sabre was focused on now, but was disappointed to find out that his leer was still aimed at him. A few more minutes of mind numbing silence went by until Light couldn't take it anymore. It was clear that Sabre did NOT want to speak to him, so Light picked up the television remote and turned on the T.V.

The news came on. There was an image of president McCain giving a speech about the next day's events. Politics wasn't really Light's thing but he felt that McCain shouldn't have been the one elected for president. Now don't get Light wrong, he was a registered Republican himself, but he honestly didn't believe that McCain could have won the election with Barack Obama. The result of that election surprised and shocked him. It was almost like he felt that it shouldn't have happened. Light looked out of the corner of his eye to see that Sabre's attention was finally off of him. Light breathed in deeply in relief. Sabre seemed a little bit interested in the television, but his hostility towards Krystal's choice of a mate was still there and deep seated. Time flew by until Krystal made an appearance at the kitchen doorway. "The meal's ready," she called loud enough for the children to hear. Everyone filed into the kitchen and took a seat at the table, Light sat next to Krystal and opposite to Sabre. On the table were mashed potatoes, green beens, and a taco salad casserole. The casserole was one of Krystal's specialties and one of the family's personal favorites.

The children conversed quietly while eating; they could sense the tension between their father and uncle. Krystal also noticed how quiet things were. Normally, they would at least find something to talk about or something interesting, but most of the conversing had died before it could begin. Krystal looked between the two and quickly figured out things had not gone according to plan. After inspecting Light's nervous demeanor and her brother's cold indifference, it didn't take long for her to figure out who was being the problem here.

Light risked another glance at Sabre, who treated him to furrowed eye that showed dislike. That little gesture cost Light his appetite. "Umm..., I think I'm going to excuse myself. I need to get some work done anyway." Light scooted his seat back and stood up to walk to the stairs. The remaining occupants at the kitchen table could hear Light's soft footsteps as he ascended the stairs and opened the door to the master bedroom. They heard the door close and the meal continued in silence, but eventually ended.

While walking out of the kitchen, Krystal turned to the kids. "Will you two please go upstairs to your rooms and stay there for a little while. I need to have a private conversation with your uncle." The twins retreated upstairs knowing that their mother was mad. When Krystal was mad, people tend to run for the hills. As soon as they heard the twin's doors close, Sabre found out that Krystal wasn't mad. She was fuming. Her glare made him feel like she was torturing him with her gaze. "What. Was. THAT?!"

Sabre knew what she was talking about; he just couldn't bring himself to talk much about it. "Listen Krystal…"

"NO! YOU listen," Krystal interrupted. "What is it you have against Light?"

Sabre felt scared under her interrogation, so he told her the truth. "Listen, Krystal. That… human is a plebian. A commoner! I don't believe he is what he says he is. I mean, he probably only sees you as a trophy wife at best." Krystal had heard enough at this point.

"STOP! You have no idea what he's really like! I can tell you, with no doubt in my heart that he loves me. And I love him. And believe me when I say that he wants to get to know and become friends with you. That won't happen, not until you finally rid yourself of your stubbornness!" Krystal paused and Sabre thought he could see tears beginning to form. "Please. If it wasn't for him, you wouldn't even be here to talk to me. Just please give him a chance. He's the nicest person there is, if you'll only give that to him." Krystal wiped her eyes with her shirt sleeve and looked directly into Sabre's eyes. He could see how sad she was.

Suddenly, she changed topics. "I'll go get you a pillow and a cover. You can sleep on the sofa tonight." Krystal pointed to the dark blue piece of furniture that out massed all the others. She went upstairs to get what her brother would need to sleep. She came downstairs and put the pillow and cover on the sofa and made her way to the stairs again while saying, "You can watch the T.V. in front of you as much as you want. She stopped at the first step and turned to Sabre, who was getting comfortable under the covers. "Please… try and accept him. I don't want two people I love so dearly to treat each other like this."

Krystal walked up the steps and into her and her husband's bedroom, leaving her brother to his thoughts.


	6. Cerinia

**Author's Note:**** Good day everyone. Here is the fifth chapter, but I have a few ****important announcements**** to make. First, this the last time I'll accept ****possible names for Krystal's parents****. Second, because of scheduling issues, there ****WILL NOT**** be a chapter ****NEXT WEEK****, as I have a lot of make-up homework to do for math. And third, starting with the next chapter, I'll be changing my update days ****FROM FRIDAY TO SATURDAY****. Please be sure to leave a review after you read, and tell your friends about my story please. Every little bit helps.**

**To Star Fox Runner****: I have absolutely no problem with you imagining Joel differently. I've tend to do this quite a lot myself. I even did it to Joel myself before remembering what I described him like.**

**To SpyketheWolf****: I'm glad to have met your expectations. I wanted Sabre to have a certain sense of justice, but a royal pride can get in the way of one's respectable behavior.**

**To KryzKrn K.****: Test you? I'm not exactly sure how I can do that. I know more about grammar this year than I did the last, but I'm not that advanced yet.**

**To everyone****: Enjoy and R&R.

* * *

**

**Chapter 5**

**Cerinia**

The day had finally arrived. As soon as the alarm clock started ringing at precisely six-thirty in the morning, Krystal's hand slammed the top of it to stop the loud ringing before it had much of a chance to begin. She leapt out of the bed, put on a purple velvet robe, and skipped over to Light's side of the bed like a school girl. In fierce passion, she forced her lips onto Light's and kissed him roughly. Light had woken up as soon as the kiss landed and returned the kiss eagerly after getting over the shock of waking up. Krystal's forcefulness made Light wonder if he would end up with a bruise on his lips. Krystal pulled away and started to pant. Light could see that she was out of breath, but a huge grin was on her face. It wasn't hard to understand why she was happy. At noon that day, was to be the moment of truth. "Are you excited?" Light asked in response to her heated passion.

"I'm about as excited as I was when the kids were born… almost as much." Light was happy for her. Ten years worth of adventures, life, and work was about to finally pay off. He hoped so at any rate. "Okay, that's enough love for now. It's time to take care of business. I want you to wake up the kids, while I take a shower." While Krystal went to the dress closet, Light got out of bed to put on his matching robe. Before Light could leave the perimeter of the room, Krystal pulled out a small dress and tuxedo she had rented for today's occasion. "Here, give these to the kids." Light took the two bundles of clothing and looked to her.

"Do you have mine?" She answered him by pulling out a larger version of Dusk's outfit, except in that Dusk's tie was black while Light's was a cold ice color. She then pulled out an Emerald dress that matched her eyes and held it up to her neck.

"What do you think?" she said in a sexy grin. Light chuckled a bit before nodding.

"It's beautiful." Krystal kissed him again for a few seconds.

"Get going."Light walked out of the room carrying the two bundles in his hands. After their bedroom door closed, she went to her closet and pulled out her safe box. She opened it and recovered her personal copy of the game disc that would reunite her parents and home world at long last.

Light went into Dawn's room first and nudged her shoulder a little to wake her up. The sleepy little girl gave him a tired smile. "Morning, Daddy." The little girl saw the set of clothes in her father's hands and looked at him in confusion. "What are those?" she pointed at the white and fancy dress.

"Your mother wants you to take a shower and put this dress on. Today is a very special day for her so we all have to look our best. Alright?" His daughter nodded and took the clothes Light gave to her. "I'm going to leave these clothes on your brother's dresser, so just wake him up and get him into the shower after you."

"Alright," Dawn replied half-way to the door. Light watched as Dawn opened the door to leave and he saw Sabre in the opening. Dawn saw that he was staring at her father but wisely decided to ignore it and walked past her uncle.

Sabre stepped into the room and closed the door to get some private time with Light. The latter felt a strange chill run down his spine. Sabre breathed in and out and made sure to have eye contact with Light. "Listen. I have to say that I'm sorry for the way I've acted toward you." Light let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. This was already turning out to be a better day than the last.

Light closed his eyes and smiled. "Don't worry about it. I honestly understand your reasons for treating that way. I mean, Krystal is your sister after all. I don't blame you at all for acting that way." Light opened his eyes and saw that Sabre had a stern look on his face.

"Don't get me wrong. I'm merely apologizing for my behavior. I was out of line in the way of your treatment. I'm going to respect the fact that Krystal chose you to be her mate, but let's just get one thing straight." Sabre stepped up to Light to make his next statement clear. "I don't like you. I am however, going to tolerate you for Krystal's sake. Mark my words, If you ever bring Krystal any unhappiness, or if I find that you are not who you say you are in any way, I will punish you myself." Sabre didn't really say this out of malice, but it was clear he didn't approve of him. Sabre turned around and left through the door. Light sat down on his daughter's bed and sighed while looking down at the ground. Light hoped that some day he could earn Sabre's respect and, more importantly, his friendship.

After everyone had dressed themselves, Sabre, sporting one of Light's dressiest khaki outfits, the group ate pop tarts for breakfast. Sabre thought the pastry was interesting but was hesitant to try it. He looked at all of the tables inhabitants, minus Krystal who was packing a second set of clothes for everyone and a picnic basket, and was amazed by the variety of pop tarts. Dusk and Dawn had chocolate pop tarts, while Light and he had blue berry. He did end up liking the small treat when he finally took a bite.

After breakfast, they all got in the car and drove to the town square. They arrived at around ten-thirty in the morning and entered the court house building; Krystal's brother had to wear a hood over himself to keep the General public from knowing that he was on Earth until the Interplanetary Integration Ceremony. The President, military, Krystal's associates, and any one else who was deemed important enough already knew of Sabre's existence.

Krystal and her family went inside the Mayor's office and saw the man in charge, along with several National Guard officers who were at present. Krystal gave the man a greeting with a smile. "Good morning, Mr. Alec." The slightly overweight, burly man acknowledged her presence and greeted her back.

"Good morning, Krystal. I see that your family is well."

"That we are thank you. So, has Joel arrived with the equipment yet?" The mayor shook his head.

"Unfortunately, not. Neither he nor his equipment is here yet, but I wouldn't worry about it. I'm sure he'll be here soon. The lab did however deliver your teleportation com link. Now, where is this brother of yours?" Krystal moved aside to allow the mayor to get a better view of the hooded person standing behind her. Sabre removed the hood and let the mayor size him up. Mr. Alec got out of his seat and stuck out his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Sabre shook the man's hand and nodded in agreement. "The pleasure is all mine. I want to thank you for accepting my sister as one of your own and looking after her."

The mayor smirked. "It's been no problem at all." Mr. Alec turned to Light and Krystal, "Mr. and Mrs. Kindley, I would like to introduce to you the corporal we have selectively assigned to help head the Cerinia expedition team. He's a good man, and well on his way to making Captain." Mr. Alec signaled for one of the guardsmen to step forward and introduce himself.

The guardsman gave the traditional army salute to Krystal while stating, "My name is corporal Strong Ma'am. And may I say, it will be an extreme pleasure for my squad and I to join you on this exploration Ma'am." Krystal gave a disapproving sigh.

"Listen to me. First of all, drop the formalities. My name is Krystal; 'Ma'am' makes me sound much older than I really am. And if we're going to be partners in this, then I'd like to know a little bit more about you. Where did you graduate from, for instance?" Unlike Light, Krystal was always exceptional when it came to making new friends. Light somewhat envied her for that particular talent. Light took an inspecting look at this corporal's face. There was something familiar about him but Light just couldn't figure out why.

The corporal smiled proudly and said, "Oak Wood High." That was when Light finally made the connection.

"Wait a minute," everyone paused and waited for Light to continue whatever he was going at. "What is your first name?" The corporal looked Light in the face and the cogs in his old memories started turning.

"Brandon… Are you who I think you are?" Light grimaced before responding.

"I'm afraid so." Everyone else standing in the room was utterly confused about what was going here.

Krystal gave her husband a questioning expression. "Light, do you two know each other?" Light returned Krystal's expression with a nervous laugh.

"Well, sort of. When I was a sophomore, he kinda… gave me a swirly." Krystal stiffened and her eyes narrowed.

"Anything else," she raggedly hissed through her teeth." Light began to sweat at the brow. When Krystal was in interrogation mode, she instantly becomes force that painfully slams through anything that gets in its way.

Light continued from where he left off because of the frightful demeanor Krystal gave him. "After that, he threw me into a garbage barrel, rolled me down a hill and I was stopped by…," Light gave a reluctant pause and looked at Krystal. It looked like she was about to explode from rage, though she was being relatively silent while she contained herself for the moment.

"continue," she said softly.

"…An overflowing dumpster of rotten food." The twins laughed amongst themselves at hearing this hilarious story involving their father. Krystal… not so much. Instead of erupting like a volcano, she silently fumed instead. This was much worse. Light watched as Krystal quietly left the room, but gripped the scruff of the corporal's uniform as she dragged him out into the hall. While being forced out of the room, Brandon started pleading to her. "Please, let me go. It wasn't anything personal; I was just told that it was a football team tradition." This didn't do much to help his case at all.

Everyone watched wide eyed as Krystal took the hemisphere lid off of a trash can that was across from the mayor's office. Then Brandon forcibly went diving, head first, into the barrel. While he struggled to get himself out of the germ infested can, Krystal was already tipping it over and kicked it to make the barrel roll across the hall. Trash littered the floor until the barrel and its reluctant passenger came to a crashing halt as it hit wall at the end of the hall.

A horrified look came over both of the twins. "Sis, remind me to always stay on Mom's good side." His trembling sibling slowly nodded her head in agreement. The mayor simply sighed.

"You know what they say about a woman's scorn." In Light's mind, this wasn't just a woman they were talking about. It was Krystal, and no one could match her payback skills. Krystal took a big breath to calm herself down. As soon as she finished her breathing, Krystal could hear the sound of rushed running from down the hall. The rest heard the running soon enough and turned to the direction the sounds were coming from. Everyone watched as Joel came down the hall and stop in front of them.

"I'm here, sorry I'm late, I had some business to take care of. Don't worry though, I handed the machine to the guards in front of the building."

Mr. Alec was pleased to hear this. "Good. It looks like everything's back on schedule." The mayor turned back to Krystal and the others. "Now, while we setup the machine with your assistant, and get Mr. Strong into a cleaner uniform, I'll need you to take your family to the ceremony stage and wait. Krystal nodded in agreement. As her family walked down the hall that led to the front of the building, Light whispered into Krystal's ear.

"Way to go Krystal. I think you scarred the poor guy for life."

Krystal merely huffed. "He did it to himself."

"While I agree with you there, don't you think that that was going a little overboard?" She shook her head.

"Absolutely not, and stop dawdling. We have to go take our seats." Light sighed and shook his head as he went to follow his wife and children. The four of them reached the outside doors and opened it. The turn out for this ceremony was astounding. There were people from all walks of life standing in the crowd. And beyond that were the many protesters standing behind those who weren't. The President wasn't going to be able to host the ceremony, as the citizens thought was going to happen because of his busy schedule, but the mayor was going to be the host for this historic moment. The crowd erupted into cheers when Krystal was seen coming out of the building with her family to take a seat. While Joel got everything organized, Brandon Strong came up to them wearing a different uniform but it was the standard green camouflage. Krystal narrowed her eyes.

"Uh… listen, for what it's worth, I'm really sorry about what I did in the past. I was just stupid back then. I promise you both that I never did any of that stuff out of hatred or anything like that. Krystal looked back to her husband and watched him nod to her. She turned her attention back to Brandon and stood up to offer her hand.

"I guess if Light can forgive you, I suppose I can too." Brandon took the offered hand and gave an appreciative smile, Krystal returned it kind-heartedly. After the both of them sat down in their seats, the rest of the colonel's squad stepped on stage and took seats next to Brandon. They were soon joined by an anthropologist and an archaeological explorer. Krystal didn't know their names but she didn't care at the moment. Other than Mr. Alec, Brandon, and her own family, Krystal didn't know anyone else on the stage.

The preparations continued and Krystal began to stare out into the crowd, but she wasn't really looking at anything. She nervously fingered the silk covered mini-disc she had clasped on in her lap. She felt a nudge to her side and broke out of her reverie. Light was the one who nudged her. "Krystal, look over there." She turned in the direction of the pointing finger to see their friends and their families walking through the crowd. Along with the exploration team, Krystal easily swayed the higher-ups into allowing her to bring a few of her closest friends along for the ride. Chris, Nat, and Alex were the only ones out of their families who were going planet hopping. Their wives and children surely wanted to come too but it was probably best that they stay on Earth. In all three of their arms were suitcases for a change of clothes and probably some food as well. Krystal was sure she had packed enough food for everybody, but it was always a good thing to have a surplus of sustenance.

The guys pulled themselves up onto the stage and gave a toothy salute. Their families opted to stay mixed in the growing mass of people. Alex was the first to express his exited feelings. "I can't believe it! After all these years, I'm finally gonna step foot on an alien planet!" Alex's voice squeaked a little in his current state.

"Calm down already Alex. I assure you, we all feel the same way. Just don't start jumping up and down on us." As serious as Nat tried to sound, his eyes, the other's included, felt like their seventeen and eighteen-year-old selves again. Krystal and Light were nineteen at the time of course. Chris was still his quiet self, but he had desperately wanted to have another adventure. Although the adventure seemed to only be an exploration and diplomacy mission.

The guys took some seats next to the twins as the ceremony began to start. Everyone sat down patiently as the mayor walked up to the podium. Sabre waited behind the curtain that was covering Krystal's machine from the crowd's eyes. "It's good to see everyone here this afternoon," Mr. Alec said into the microphone. "As you all know, this is a momentous day in our world's history. Ten years ago, we were graced with our first contact with intelligent life from other planets. A being who has become a great friend to us on earth, and in one case, an excellent wife and mother. The princess of planet Cerinia is here with us today to bring all of us a leap forward into the future. Without further ado, I give you Princess Krystal Kindley." A universal applause began to ring across the area. It sounded like the entire city had decided to come to city hall. Surely, there were people from all over the world there as well.

Krystal took a deep breath to rid herself of nervousness and sat up to walk to the podium. She looked over the audience before addressing to them. "If any of you remember, I ended up stranded on your planet ten years ago. During that time, I was afraid as I was lost in a world I never knew. I did everything I could, along with the human friends I had made, to try and find a way for me to go back home to my world. Something unexpected happened though…" Krystal turned to look at Light for a brief moment. "I fell in love…, and with one of your own kind, no less. I haven't seen my family or Cerinia in nearly a decade and I've missed my family terribly. However, I don't regret my decision in the least. I have a wonderful husband and two beautiful children. Now, it's time for me to complete my family and fulfill the promises I made so many years ago. Behind this curtain is the machine that will bring our two worlds together. Not only that, but there is someone very dear to me that I would like to introduce you to." Krystal turned to Joel and made a waving gesture with her right hand.

Joel walked over to the curtain that was blocking the audience's view and pulled to reveal its hiding contents. A collective gasp ensued. The machine was a marvel; however, it was its living neighbor that caught the gathering's attention. Sabre raised up his hand and waved to the people. "Hello, everyone."

Krystal smiled at the audience's surprise. "Everyone, this is my older brother, Sabre. He arrived on Earth yesterday through the machine behind him. He will be accompanying me, as well as the exploration team, and my friends and family as we leave to Cerinia. Heading the expedition with me is Colonel Brandon Strong." The said soldier stepped out of the squadron's alignment and gave a traditional salute to the public. "And now, the moment you've all been waiting for. I don't plan on boring you with how my machine, which I've dubbed the Azure-Light, works. All I ask is for everyone to watch and behold your eyes." Krystal went to join Joel at a make-shift computer terminal next to his as they started up the machine.

There were whispers amongst the crowd about what was going to happen next. The familiar sound the Azure-Light whirring to Life presented itself. The three panels on the pyramid-shaped machine opened to expose the inner workings. The Azure Light began to glow with light as beautiful as the color it was named for. The public and the people on stage stopped whispering altogether. It was like they were hypnotized by the light the machine began to emit. Once Krystal thought the machine was running hot, she opened the disc drive and gingerly placed the Starfox Adventures mini disc into the tray. The disc went in and Krystal put one finger on the red button that would unleash the power of her machine. She was hesitant. Krystal looked at her family and friends once more, seeing a supportive nod from them all. Her nervous hesitance drifted away as her strong will and confidence took over. She pressed the button.

The Azure-Light shot a powerful cosmic ray up into the air and through the Earth's atmosphere. As the ray blast began to fly through space, Krystal's satellites activated automatically and positioned themselves to get ready to catch the blast. The satellites' positioned themselves in a circular alignment and had distanced themselves from each other to make their circle larger than the Earth. The ray shot itself in the dead center of the satellites'. The blast made a splash in between the satellites as it began to spread to create a massive portal. The flourishing energy soon filled the thin circle, completing the portal.

Everyone down on Earth watched in awe at the portal's creation. Their 'awe' was cut short as they could begin to see, from their position, what looked like a giant blueberry being pulled through. Krystal's eyes' widened in astonishment. It was Cerinia. She had seen maps of her home planet during her schooling as a young child. The planet above them couldn't have been anything but.

The planet was soon pulled through entirely into their universe and had settled itself down into the same orbital around the sun as Earth. It seemed that Cerinia was very nearly the exact same size as Earth. Its position in the solar system was finalized as it became a second sister planet, twin sister planet to be exact.

The crowd, as well as the world that was seeing this on different news networks, was stunned speechless. After a moment of silence, a grand applause broke out. Krystal proudly walked up to the podium to smile to the world. Light Looked at Krystal's smile and could have sworn that her smile was making her glow fantastically, as far as he could tell. Seeing how excited and loud the public was, Krystal coughed into the microphone to regain their attention. "I'm afraid it is time to wrap up the ceremony. As this ceremony closes, we will leave immediately for Cerinia. We aren't' leaving on a space shuttle however. Instead, we are going to use a miniature teleportation system I've invented for this occasion." Krystal retrieved her duffel bag and retrieved out something that looked similar to a digital watch. It was bigger, thicker, and had its own computer interface.

Krystal strapped the arm computer to her wrist and signaled for everyone in her party to come stand next to her. After everyone in her party assembled around her, Mr. Alec got out of his seat and walked over to Krystal. "Please do me a favor and give my regards to your father and mother and don't worry about the machine. I'll make sure it gets back to the lab."

Krystal laughed lightly, "Alright, and thanks." With goodbyes to the mayor done, Krystal and everyone else began to wave goodbye to everyone on Earth. Krystal started up her teleporter and shouted out over the distance. "Goodbye, everybody! See you all in a couple weeks!" A similar glow to the one the Azure-Light had made enveloped the group and they all soon vanished from sight. They left the world below them completely bewildered.

The group materialized in a thick, beautiful, lush, and green jungle. It looked like a rainforest, but without the rain. It wasn't long before the archaeologist was going to the closest new specimen and began to take notes. The twins started running around in circles, commenting on how beautiful the planet was. Sabre had to agree. Cerinia was beautiful indeed…, when it wasn't in any peril at least. Light stood next to his wife and looked up at the sky while the guys looked around the area themselves like they were children in a candy store. Krystal noticed that Light was quiet for a while. His silence broke as he commented to Krystal, "I'm really proud of you, Krystal." She returned the statement by leaning into Light and laying her head on his shoulder.

"I wouldn't have done it if it weren't for you."

Something popped into Light's head at that moment. "Wait a minute. We're in a jungle. So then, where is the nearest city?" Everyone else began to wonder the same thing.

"Oh," she said in realization. She made a short giggle before consulting her arm computer. She oddly began to skip a few meters away before stopping at a small shrub. She poked her head through and back out again. Krystal gestured for everyone to come closer and she turned to Light to answer his question. "Right here." She pulled the shrub away. What the group saw was the most beautiful city any of them had ever laid eyes upon. The city was enormous. And it glowed, even though it was still only the afternoon. The twin's eyes became large saucers. "This is the city I grew up in. The palace is also only a little bit of a walking distance from here. One word crossed most of their minds, '_Amazing!_' To Krystal and Sabre, the word that crossed their minds, as they looked over the wondrous city, was '_Home!_'


	7. Royal Prejudice

**Author's Note****: Well, hello everybody. I believe it's really clear that I'm not a military expert and I just wanted to clear up a few things that probably confused a lot of you. I haven't taken the time to fix this problem yet, but Brandon is a corporal and NOT a colonel. And as an important announcement, again there will not be a chapter next week because I have to work on completing my short story for creative writing, but there will be one the next week. So look forward to that because that's where the story's adventure begins… sort of. This chapter, as well as the one I'm working on right now, were chores to completes. They were necessary chores however. **

**To Northern_megas****: I'll have to disagree with you. Archaeologists study the different kinds of cultures and learning about the plant life near certain cultures would be involved. Although I agree that it would not be a big part as well. So yes, that guy should get those plant samples to a biologists as soon as he can.**

**To everyone****: Enjoy the chapter and remember to Read and Review! It helps my writing trance greatly! **

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Chapter 6**

**Royal Prejudice**

The city was one of the most beautiful sights that most of them had ever laid eyes upon. Domiciles of many different shapes, sizes, and colors were arranged in blocks and cul-de-sacs', much like how houses were arranged on Earth in different neighborhoods. There were no roads that they could see, so the majority of the group assumed that they walked or jumped to wherever they wanted to go. Cerinians were a rather athletic race after all. Judging from the size of some the buildings, others in the group thought that they might have had teleportation capability as a means for transportation. Krystal's teleportation device however, might have been a little more advanced than theirs if they were right about them having any at all. And that's saying something.

In the middle of the city, which everyone assumed to be the city plaza, was a giant fountain. Instead of water, it spewed out plumes of blue fire. Except for Krystal, no one else knew what the blue pyre's purpose was. As a child, she would often stare at the blue pyre from the balcony of her room at night in both awe and sorrow.

The building closest to them was clearly the palace. The palace looked to have been made using the most pure white marble on its outer walls. Three main towers sprung up from the magnificent white wonder and were a crystal-like indigo color that contrasted brilliantly with the white. Two building wings extended from the main building and branched like an 'L'. The gate and the castle's linings were made of almost pure gold. It was almost like Krystal planned on making their jaws drop at the building's beauty.

They did notice that there was something awfully strange with this picture. There was almost no one out and about. They could see a few people, but they looked like warriors or something of the sort. Regardless of that little side note, the city in all of its beauty was something to behold.

After letting the party of onlookers get over their initial shock of seeing such a beautiful city, Krystal coughed to get their attention. Everyone broke away their gazes from the eye-candy and turned to Krystal. "Now that everyone is done looking at the city, I think it's time for some of us to change clothes and have a bite to eat."

"Agreed," replied Chris's stoic voice.

Nat quickly went for his duffel bag to get out some sandwiches his wife prepared. "You know, I don't see why we don't just go over to that palace of yours and eat something there."

Krystal's left eye twitched. Even after all of these years, Nat could still irk her nerves because of his insensitivity. "It's because, I haven't seen my family in a very long time. After I get the twins something to eat, I'm going to go somewhere out in the jungle to change clothes and head down to the palace to meet with them in private."

"And I'll be joining her," said Sabre in an absolute tone. Krystal nodded and got some turkey sandwiches out for Light and the kids while their friends and the rest of the party also prepared meals for themselves. The military personnel opened some MRE's and Krystal gave some sandwiches to the anthropologist and the archaeologist.

While they ate their food, Krystal went out one direction into the jungle to change into a blue blouse and some violet slacks. Sabre did the same, but in the opposite direction. He changed back into his tunic bottom, and put on one of light's biggest black shirts. Due to Light's shortness, Sabre was easily a head taller than him and had a small bit of trouble fitting into it. The two walked out into the clearing everyone was eating in. "Well, it's about time for us to go to the palace. I'll come back to get you all once everything's said and done."

The twin's ran up to Krystal and each attached themselves to a one of her legs. "Don't go without us Mamma," Dawn begged.

Dusk began to plead. "Can we, please, come with you?" Krystal knelt down to her kids and hugged them tightly before prying them off of her.

"I'm sorry kids. I really am, but I have to go alone with your uncle Sabre. This may take a while, but I promise I'll be back by sunset. Okay?" The twins reluctantly nodded and went to stand by Light again.

Sabre walked up to Krystal and said, "I think we should get going." Krystal nodded and waved goodbye to everyone.

"We're going now. You two be good for your father, you hear me?"

The twins responded to her in unison. "Yes Mamma." And Krystal left with her brother at her side. Both Krystal and Sabre had a sense of nostalgia come over them, Sabre being the one who managed to not show it.

Krystal and Sabre hiked down from the elevated jungle they were in and had to walk around to the front of the castle to reach the front gate. While coming around to the front, two Cerinian guardsmen at the gate ran up to Krystal when they recognized her. "Princess, what are you doing here?" called the taller guard. Both of the guards were covered in white-gold armor and each had silver staffs. The taller guard had a single gold brace on his right wrist and the shorter guard was wearing a silver helm that resembled a hat, rather than a piece of armor. "You really shouldn't be here. There was a strange blue light in the sky. As soon as it was gone, the sun was in a different position. We're under emergency marshal law for the time being. But I'm glad to see that you're well at least…, but your face looks a bit different?"

"Yeah, and what planet did you visit to find such strange clothing?" said the smaller. Krystal smiled and put a finger to her lips.

"That would be my little secret."

The taller guard looked her up and down. "Amazing! It's only been a few months since you left, but you look like your far more mature and beautiful than when you left too!" Krystal's mind was rattled by this. She knew the Azure-Light would reel in her world from some time before her arrival on Sauria, but it was only a few months after her leave when she heard word of her world's disappearance. She had left to go on a royal right of passage. She was supposed to go away for a while alone and visit the surrounding planets. She had wished she had never gone on that pilgrimage in the first place but considering all that's happened to her, she was also glad it did. Still, she wasn't exactly sure as to what period of time the planet would be pulled from. She thought that the planet would age without her, disappearance or not. This was an odd result indeed.

"Thanks, I'm glad you noticed the changes." The guards looked from her to Sabre.

"And who might this be, Princess?" The smaller guard questioned.

"This man is my guest. I've come back to visit my Mother and Father. Will you let us through, please?" The guards nodded graciously and spoke at the same time. "Yes, Princess!" The guards moved out of the way and let Krystal and Sabre through the gate without any trouble. As soon as they passed, the guards began to whisper amongst themselves.

The smaller addressed his thoughts first, "So, who do you think the new guy is?"

"If I had to guess, I'd say it was the Princesses new love interest." The tall guard managed to get a laugh in before being knocked unconscious by a flying rock to the face. While all Cerinians had extremely good hearing, Krystal's was undoubtedly one of the best.

Krystal and Sabre walked through the palace doors quickly after Krystal's small act of violence. Krystal led the way to the throne room. Even after all these years, the palace grounds were practically mapped in her head. They reached the door to the throne room and Krystal merely touched the door. She hesitated for a second before pushing open the door. The next sight that greeted Krystal brought joyful tears to her eyes. Sitting in their separate thrones were her long lost parents. From left to right in Krystal's line of vision was her father, holding a jewel encrusted gold staff that sported scissor-like blades. Her mother's was jewel encrusted as well, but it was rose gold and a crimson ruby adorned the tip. "Mother! Father!" she shouted with elation.

They were just as she remembered them before her pilgrimage. Along with the signifying staff, her father wore black leather body armor and leggings, gold braces on both wrists, and one gold pauldron on his right shoulder. His wild blue hair was like a shorter version of a lion's mane. Her mother wore a long white robe with gold edges and linings. She had a gold ring around one finger on each hand, a silver necklace with two emeralds that were like her and Krystal's eyes captured in the center, and her hair and beautiful looks reflected Krystal's own. It was also her mother that taught her to use magic.

Her parents sat up from there seats with great smiles on their faces and went to meet their dutiful daughter. They didn't expect for Krystal to all-out run and almost tackle them with a tight hug. Tears formed in her eyes and were freely falling onto her mother's white royal robe. Her parents looked at each other with confused expressions. Sabre just stood to the side and into the faces of the parents he never knew. Watching Krystal's reaction etched some warm feelings into his heart. Their daughter wasn't gone for even half a year, and she was already back. Her new appearance didn't escape them. She clearly looked older and more mature from when they last saw her.

After a minute of silence from their part, King Randorn pulled away to get his daughter to look him in the face. "Krystal, what are you doing here? There was a glowing light in the sky and the sun's position changed. Do you know who or what's responsible for this? Why do you look… older? And what planet did you get these… intriguing garments from?" Krystal raised her head to look Randorn and Mira in the eyes. Her parents had worry in their eyes.

Krystal reached the sleeve of her shirt to her face and wiped away the tears she had bottled up inside of her since she had lost her home world. Her inner joy was indescribable. She brightened up and said, "I'm sorry. But I've got a long story to tell you both in private, and it does involve that glow in the sky you all saw."

Her father gave her as much of an understanding expression he could give. "Then walk with us to the study." Krystal and Sabre nodded and walked down the hall east of the throne room. The King and Queen didn't really notice Sabre walking with them, and nor did they acknowledge his nod to them in the throne room. When they reached the door to the study, Krystal's parents finally took notice of Sabre and stopped to address him. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid that I didn't mean you can come as well, seeing as how this is a family meeting."

Randorn was going to continue, but Krystal intervened. "Actually, it's important that he be included in this particular conversation." Her parents wondered what she meant, but believed that she would explain. The fact that he was involved in this long story and Krystal's tearful reunion, had Randorn and Mira worried. Was their daughter pregnant?! Once inside, Krystal took a deep breath to ready herself. This was going to take a long time after all. "To answer your questions from before, there is something you must know." Her parents readied themselves for the worse. "The last time you saw me was a few months ago, right?"

Randorn and Mira looked at each other, wondering where exactly this conversation was heading before nodding to her. "Yes, that's correct dear," Mira returned.

"Well," Krystal fidgeted for a second before continuing. "That may have been the last time you saw me, but it has been well over ten years since I last saw you." Krystal began to tear a little more. This was apparently a more emotional meeting than she expected for herself. Her parents were just in shock. Her statement made since, but then it didn't at the same time. Mira found that she couldn't stand anymore and collapsed into an unoccupied chair behind her. She found that she couldn't form any words. Randorn came out of shock first and asked, "I'm assuming there is more… isn't there." Krystal nervously nodded.

The next two hours was spent with Krystal explaining the massive amount of events that have occurred over the course of ten years in a condensed amount of time. Needless to say, Randorn and Mira were not happy. As shocked as they were from Krystal's beginning statement, they felt completely floored by the time she got to the end of her first epic adventure. Mira had no idea what to make of it all. "I can't believe it," she said with dilated eyes. "My daughter… married an ape-like alien?!" Krystal had a feeling on where this was leading to.

"Krystal, how could you?!" Her father wasn't exactly mad, he was just deeply disturbed.

Krystal folded her arms together and up to her chest with a defiant look on her face. "How could I what?!"

"Darling, I set up marriage interviews with many great young men… and you chose a creature that didn't even slightly resemble your own kind?" It was like he was antagonized by this revelation.

"Light may not be 'our' kind, but he is everything I have ever wanted in someone to love. If it weren't for him, then you wouldn't have a newfound son." Randorn and Mira turned to the young man currently in their presence. Of course, they felt ecstatic about finally having a son of their own. They didn't even care if he technically wasn't born in their universe. He was still their biological son, and that automatically makes him one of them. And a prince at that. Their parents smiled warmly at their newly acquired son like they hadn't in years and sighed in defeat.

Although they resigned themselves reluctantly, Krystal did make several important points. If it wasn't for this human she married, their race and Cerinia would be lost, and they would never have been reunited with each other, their son wouldn't have been released from his virtual prison, and their daughter would probably be dead. They owed this young man the benefit of the doubt, but that didn't mean they were okay with his being married to their daughter. The King turned to Krystal and looked at her firmly. "Very well, dear. Please take the guards at the gate with you and fetch your husband and the Earth team. I will have them join us for dinner."

Krystal squealed in delight. She knew they would have a problem with Light being her husband, but at least it was a step in the right direction… or so she thought. "I'll go get him right now, and just wait until you meet the kids." The King and Queen's jaw dropped at this piece of information that Krystal neglected to mention. No one was more devastated at this information more than the Queen.

Mira was practically speechless, but she was able to slowly form words. "Chi-children?! The two of you had… children?!" Krystal instantly realized she had forgotten to mention the kids.

"Yes, twins to be more precise. Their ninth life embrace was a few months ago." Krystal intentionally switched to terms her parents would most readily understand. She herself hadn't used the words _life embrace_ in several years. Krystal had just become so accustomed to Earth life and the human traditions. "I'll go get them now." Krystal left with Sabre and the two guards at the door, leaving the befuddled King and Queen to their frizzled thoughts.

Mira began to pace around in circles in front her husband. "I can't believe it. Our daughter, not only married outside of her species or anything close to it, but she also bore this alien creature… CHILDREN!!!"

"I know, but we must not show our anger in front of her. I don't like this situation anymore than you do, but we must remain calm and deal with this problem accordingly." Mira had much rage in her eyes and she wanted nothing more than to crush this human son-in-law of theirs.

"HOW!!! How can we deal with this?!"

"Don't worry. I'll figure something out. But in the meantime…" King Randorn whistled for his messenger boy to come to him. The teenaged Cerinian came and bowed on his knee to the King before receiving an approving nod. The boy handed the King a tablet and stylus to write whatever the King needed to be announced to the public. Randorn wrote on the tablet for a few minutes and handed it to the messenger to be sent into the media.

"What did you write on that tablet?" Mira questioned.

"I'm telling the public that there is no need to worry about the anomaly. Krystal said that she promised the Earth people our kindness and our technology, didn't she? Sooner or later, the rest of our people will find out about them so I'm making sure the rest of the people know that these aliens are friendly and are not to be harmed. I'm also going to declare the Earth a Cerinian ally. They did take care of our daughter after all. That doesn't change the fact that I'm still worried about all of this, but there isn't much that can be helped for the moment. Until Krystal returns, let's go to the dining hall." A few minutes passed before the guards at the front came to the dining hall and announced Krystal's return with the aliens. It was clear from the looks of their faces that they were more than a little surprised. Maybe a little scared as well.

Randorn and Mira pushed out of their seats and walked over to stand in front of the entrance. The door open slowly swiftly and both of them were only able to see a couple of small blurs dash towards them and attach themselves to the King and Queen. It happened faster than either of them could react. They looked down to see two strange looking children clasped to their legs. They were… cute?! Randorn picked up the little brown haired girl, while Mira picked up the little azure haired boy. Were these… Krystal's kids? If they were, then that would mean… For the first time since Krystal told them she had children, it finally registered that they were grandparents! "Um…, what are your names?" Mira asked them.

"My name is Dawn."

"And I'm Dusk."

"Were twins," the two answered in unison. Although Randorn and Mira were still less than happy about nearly everything Krystal told them about her life, they were no match for the cuteness the twins gave off. The children looked strange to them, but the ears and bushy tails was enough to convince them that they were Krystal's children. The boy's hair was a common azure-blue, but the girl's hair was brown. A trait inherited from the father, no doubt. They certainly didn't look as ape-like as they had imagined. They thought that to be a good thing.

"Um… hello?" said a slightly unconfident voice. Randorn and Mira looked to the massive Golden doorway and saw a group of beings who looked somewhat like the kids or grandchildren as they should probably say now. Standing out in front of the group of humans was a short chocolate-haired man. The man in front of them wasn't near as small as a dwarf, but compared to the Cerinian people, and the other humans as well apparently, he was short. After taking a closer look at him, Mira turned to look her grandchildren and noticed the similarities between them. This man was the father of these children. Whereas the children instantly gained their favor with their cuteness, Light was instantly treated to a look from both of Krystal's parents. They weren't really glaring at him, in respect to Krystal's wishes, but the glint in their eyes revealed the malice within.

No one other than Light, Sabre, Krystal, and their friends were able to read what the King and Queen were thinking. Brandon, his squad, and the chosen explorers had no idea what all of the hesitance in the room was for. They chalked it all up to finally being able to see their son-in-law. They were only half right. Light had a feeling that this was going to be long, nerve wracking night. Everyone took a designated seat at the long dining room table. Randorn and Mira were seated at the head of both ends of the table. Next to Randorn, Krystal and Light sat across from each other with Nat sitting across from Alex, and Chris sitting across from Sabre. Next in the seating order were Brandon, his squad, and then the explorers. Mira insisted for the twins to sit next to her as part of her new grandmotherly instincts dictated.

"Welcome to our world, young travelers. My name is Randorn and, as you no doubt have already concluded, I am the king of planet Cerinia. On the other end of the table is my wife Mira. Now, I know you have a lot of questions to ask, but please eat to your heart's content as we do so." Sabre's father's name rang through his head. That was the same name as his grandfather from within the game he was created in. Sabre wondered if this was merely a coincidence or something that was more. He let it go for now, but he planned on doing some research when he would be able to find some extra time.

The dinner went as well as it could. In Light's case, it could have been better. The explorers kept asking relatively simple questions about the planets flora, bestiary, and history, but Brandon asked when they share some of their technology as they 'promised ten years ago.' It wasn't a hard bullet to dodge, but it referred back to Krystal cover. They knew it was only a matter of time they asked, but they still wished the humans could have waited to ask them that later. Thankfully, Randorn was a smooth talker and he was pretty good at making things up on the fly as needed. "I'm afraid we haven't thought too much about it over these past few years, seeing as how we've been busy since Krystal left us. There is no need to worry though. Once a few things are settled, we will then talk about sharing our technology."

There was a moment of pause that Randorn spent eyeing Light, who sunk into his seat and tried to mentally camouflage himself from his mother and father-in-laws eyes. In fact, throughout the whole dinner, Light was getting some silent but vibrantly hostile signals from Krystal's parents. Nat, Chris, and Alex couldn't help but feel sorry for their nervous and scared friend. The poor guy.

The night went on like that; all the while Mira spent the time cooing on her grandchildren. The dinner soon ended, and the King and Queen sent for the guards to take them to their rooms. Before the guards came, Randorn turned to Light and Krystal and asked, "Would you like us to prepare a room for you two together?"

Before Krystal could answer with an 'of course,' Light went over her voice and said, "No, that will be alright. I'll just sleep by myself for a while."

Krystal moved over to her husband and whispered, "What in the world are you doing?!"

"I mean no offense, Krystal; I just don't think it'd be a good idea if we slept with each other while we're here. I mean you just arrived here out of the blue to not only save them, but also to tell them that you married an alien… and had children _with_ said alien. For your parent's sake, I think its best that we do not share a bedroom until your family gets used to me." Krystal did not like it, but she was afraid that he was right. It probably was for the best. However, she did plan on having a very long talk, or scream fest, with her parents the next morning.

Krystal nodded in resignation with Light and said, "Alright, but I _am_ going to deal with this tomorrow at sunrise. I really want them to at least give you a chance." The guards came and escorted everyone to the guest rooms the King and Queen had picked out.

Light entered his room and didn't even bother to turn on the lights after the guards showed him how. He was tired and he just wanted this torturous night to end. He tried climbing into the bed and sighed to himself before closing his eyes to sleep.

A knock on the door stopped him from slipping into bliss.

Light sighed once more, except in irritation, before pulling himself out of the bed and trudged to the door and opened it. It was Randorn, Mira, and Sabre. The King and Queen, and Sabre as well to a large degree, still had that disapproving look in their eyes. "May we come in," Mira asked.

Light had a bad feeling on where this might lead to, but answered, "Of course you can." He stood out of their way to let them in and closed the door.

The King didn't waste anymore time and got right to the point of this meeting. "Listen, we'd like it if you would annul this marriage you have with our daughter." That statement was too blunt to Light. The young man was just too shocked for words, but managed to eventually find his voice.

"What?!"

"You heard us." Randorn said more harshly than he originally intended. "We want you to annul your marriage to Krystal. If you do that and never see her again, I will make sure that you are handsomely rewarded." Light couldn't believe it. Krystal's entire family was ganging up on him, and trying to bribe him out of his marriage. Light could only take so much sitting down but decided it was time to stand up for himself.

"Now listen here. I know this may be a little too much to take in all at once, and I understand that I'm not at all what you'd like to have as Krystal's husband, but listen to me. I love Krystal and our children more than anything in the whole world. They are the most important things in my pitiful excuse for a life. I'm sorry, but my answer is no." Randorn, Mira, and Sabre were all a little angry and at a loss for words at this little outburst of defiance. Before anything more could have been said by either party, the rippling quake of a screaming explosion shook them all to the floor.


	8. Rescuers in the Dark

**Author's Note****: Better a little late than never. Because of school, and the fact that it gives me more time to write, I've decided to stay on this once every two weeks schedule until the second arc begins. And now we finally get into some of the action. And also, I know there are more than just five or six people reading the story and I would like to hear their opinions just as much as the usual people. Don't be afraid to review. It makes me happy, and when I'm happy, my work gets done faster and better. Remember, get a review total of 197 by the time the chapter count reaches 27, I'll prepare something extra special for you all. And as a challenge, can any guess why I named Krystal's father Randorn? There's a good reason why too.**

**To champ11****: There won't be any need. Aside from Brandon, who is based off of a friend of mine in the military, all of the soldiers are flat characters, as well as the unnamed researchers and explorers, and won't be around for much longer. So military traditions won't be present for the remainder of the story.**

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Chapter 7

**Rescuers in the Dark**

It wasn't long after the roaring explosion outside the castle, that all those trying to sleep woke up and made a quick sprint to the throne room. Light and his midnight visitors met with Krystal and the rest. They all had a look of confusion mixed with fear etched to their faces. "What was that noise and rocking just now?" Nat asked in a slight yell.

Dawn looked to her mother with tears that displayed how afraid she was. "Momma, I'm scared! What's going on!" Dusk was just as scared as his sister, but he kept it bottled up to try to be strong for his sister.

Krystal knelt down to her daughter and son, whom she knew was putting on a show, and pulled her children close to protectively. "I don't know, Sweetie, but your father and I are here and we won't let anything happen to either of you."

Another loud explosion broke out and shook the area. The large group could hear people's screams and the sound of laser fire coming from outside the palace. Brandon turned to the direction of the palace doors. "It's coming from over there." Everyone started running in the direction Brandon pointed out, which confused Alex profusely.

"Is it me, or shouldn't we be running in the other direction?!" Nat and Alex stopped running and turned to each other.

"Come to think of it, that's a good idea," Nat agreed. The two started running in the opposite direction as the others to get away from the supposed danger, but the two didn't get very far. Debris from the ceiling fell in the general path they planned on going. They immediately turned with a slide from the direction they no longer wanted to go towards and went back to running the way everyone else was.

What the large group saw before them struck fear into their beings. It was an almost impossible danger that looked like the stuff nightmares were made of. The handful of Cerinian guards present could only do what they could to fend off the titanic winged-serpent that was thrashing around the palace's garden. More guards were rushing out of the palace and their respective patrol areas, staff or laser rifle in hand, but the creature was easily beating them back. They could see civilians, who had final been convinced to come out of their homes, running and screaming as they either tried to find a safe place to hide or a suitable safe house.

The giant monster's scales were as black as coal and just as ugly as the rest of it. Just looking at the creature while in the cover of night, it almost looked invisible. It was only visible enough to everyone's eyes with the bright spot lights pointed at it by the palace guards. The creature's sharp crimson-eyes glowed like solar flares. The giant bat-like wings and the small arms were the only thing that kept the creature from being classified as just a giant snake. Its open saliva-filled mouth revealed jagged teeth along its inner jaws, which always ended with a long pointed fang. They could only assume from its cobra-like appearance that the fangs held some kind of poison, but that wouldn't matter much since the fang itself could slice someone like a sword. However, it didn't seem interested in feeding on the growing number of soldiers.

Some of the guards were hiding behind a ten foot marble block that had been broken off from the palace and were firing their laser rifles or using their long distance magic attacks when they could get a safe shot in.

Three guards in front of the ones hiding behind the marble block were firing green laser rays from their metallic silver rifles at the creature's eyes. Four others were confronting the beast by leaping at it and using their chosen elemental styles of fighting and wielding their traditional combat staffs of gold or silver to strike at its head. It was trying to claw at Randorn's guards but its arms were proportionally about the same as that of a tyrannosaurus-rex.

Nearby civilians were running away from the beast in panic. The warriors skillfully leapt at the creature and bashed at its enormous head with all of their might. This only served to tick the beast off. The warriors made another powerful leap, but the serpent flapped its massive black and violet-webbed wings to slam the offending guards with a single fail swoop. The guards fell fast into the ground and instantly lost consciousness. The serpent felt several stings in the back of its head again and turned around to face the shooters and magic users from behind and in front of the block. It raised its large tail and it powerfully lashed at the shooters. The sturdy block shattered under the creature's tail and effectively knocked out the firing guards. It was a miracle that none of them had been squashed. The serpent turned from the Cerinian guards it defeated and turned to the large group staring in awe and horror at it with pure malice.

As soon as its eyes made contact with theirs, they all knew they were in mortal danger. Brandon and his soldiers immediately went out in front of the others and got behind some of the palace debris on the Cerinian soil for cover and started firing their carbine assault rifles. It looked like the bullets were bouncing off of its incredibly hard and leathery hide, rather than penetrating. The serpent opened its mouth and let loose raging green flames at them. The creature's aim was off. Instead of hitting them, it hit the top of one of the palace's towers. "RUN TO THE FOREST!!!" Randorn shouted to the rest of the group as they got out of the way of the falling debris. They all followed the King while Brandon and his squad stayed at the rear to keep the serpent from gaining too much ground on them. "There is a safe house this way! We should be safe there if we reach it in time. Krystal and Light were having the hardest time running with their children clinging to their arms with their eyes closed out of fear.

After a heated run, Chris saw a structure poking out of the thicket. "I think I can see the safe house."

"RUN FASTER!!!" Brandon wasn't exactly sure on whether or not they could make it to the safe house or not. That question was running through his mind and everyone else's, it didn't matter for very much longer. The winged-serpent spread out both of its wings and crackles of red sparks began to emanate into a spherical form in front of its face. The red, crackling orb shot out a blast of lethal energy ahead of them. What was supposed to be their safe haven, burst into flames? The red blast turned the safe house ahead of them into a smoldering pile of metal, rocks, and rubble. It was gone and they were cornered. Even if they had made it to the safe house, they still would have been killed.

What was this winged monstrosity hovering in the air above them? Where on Earth did it come from, it was not at all a part of the Cerinian bestiary? Why was it so powerful? Light and Krystal had never seen such destructive power since their last great battle with Blitz, or Blitzkrieg after the initial transformation. And why was it targeting them specifically? All of these questions and more ran through their heads as the beast looked down at them. Although they couldn't really tell just by looking at its scaly lips, it almost seemed like the serpent was smiling sinisterly and chuckling at their lost hope to get away. The serpent began to charge up another blast of red energy, just like the one that obliterated their chance to get safe.

Brandon and his soldiers futilely shot at the serpent, hoping to stop the inevitable. Light's friends, as well as the researchers and the explorers ducked down holding their heads with their hands, as if to just will this living nightmare to go away. Light, Krystal, Dusk, and Dawn just held on to each other for every little bit of comfort they could manage to squeeze out with tears in their eyes. The King and Queen did just the same, wanting their last few moments to be together with the other. Chris, Nat, and Alex were looking around them frantically and scanned the area to find a place to hide. If they were lucky, a fissure might open up and swallow them. A small chance at survival was better than none. The serpent's red sphere that promised their demise grew in size and it lit the night sky with its deadly scarlet glow.

The blast did not come though.

Before the serpent could fire at them, two giant steal spear heads ran through the monster's wings. This offensive act canceled out the creature's charging assault. The group below the beast noticed that they were still alive and looked up to see their rescuers. It was a space ship, and a large one at that. It almost looked like a colossal floating submarine. The bow of the ship, which they assumed to be the ship's command center, had a bubble-like windshield. The entire ship was a metallic silver color and the bubble had a yellowish tint. Judging from the number of weapons they could see from where they were at, it looked like an alien warship. Who was it that saved them? They didn't have to wait long to get an answer. A voiced resounded from the ships external intercom. "Hey! Are you guys alright?!"

Light, Krystal, and their friends were more than a little surprised, but that didn't change the fact that they were so relieved to hear a familiar voice. Dusk was the first to cry out in excitement at the one who saved them. "Hey, Sis! I know who that is! It's uncle Allistor!"

Dawn grinned brightly at hearing the name of their favorite grand-uncle, although they just called him uncle to keep it short. "Hey! You're right!" In spite of the frightening situation they were all in, the twins stepped out of their parent's embrace and started to wildly wave at the ship their uncle was on. "Hi uncle Allistor!"

"Hi to you too kids," Allistor greeted and confirmed that it was him.

A new voice came through the ship's intercom, but like the first, it was also comfortingly familiar to Light, Krystal, and the gang. "There will be time for catching up later. Right now, we have a situation to deal with here," boomed out Leonidas' voice.

"Weapons ready, Commander," said the voice of Alex's aunt Lindsey. Krystal was especially happy at hearing the voice of the other female from their first adventure together.

"Alright then," began the old sea captain from where he sat in the center of the ship's control center. "Let's show this beast what the Solomon is capable of."

Lindsey pressed some buttons at her station in front of Leonidas and pulled some switches. "First level turrets and bow plasma cannons ready to fire Commander."

That was all he needed to hear. "Fire at will!"

Outside the ship, the serpent tried to struggle and thrash the spear heads out of its wings, but this only served to cause it more pain. The thrashing caused it to destroy much of the thicket and made the group below run to take cover from the thrown tree limbs, rocks, and dirt. The serpent didn't get a breather before the Solomon let loose a slew of powerful weapons on it. The turret ammo consisted of super heated saber rounds. Unlike what was being used on it before, the constant barrage of saber rounds were penetrating the monster's scaly hide. Along with that, two charged plasma projectiles were blasted at the serpent, five seconds at a time.

The serpent felt the saber rounds painfully sink into its black leathery skin like a heated knife was repeatedly stabbing it over and over again. The creature hissed, yelled, and growled at this torturous situation it was in. Adding on to the immense pain was the powerful blasts of plasma that melted and destroyed what flesh was hit. The Solomon's cannons concentrated most of its cannon fire on the beast's mid-section and its head. One plasma blast hit the last few meters of the creature's tail, effectively disintegrating it. The serpent had never felt such pain before and thrashed more viciously to set itself free. More saber rounds were fired at it, this time at its wings. With the wings not being in very good condition in the first place, the saber rounds kept piercing through and making the wings look reminiscent of swiss cheese. The saber rounds themselves did help the creature free its left wing, that is only after its wing was completely torn up and bleeding profusely.

With one wing free, the serpent forcefully removed the second spearhead out of its right wing. The serpent opened its mouth and spewed green fire at the Solomon like a stream of napalm in a defensive maneuver.

Leonidas saw this coming. "REVERT POWER TO THE HEAT SHIELDS!!!" Lindsey did as she was told to and flipped switches in a blur.

"Heat shields up!" They got the heat shields up just in time to brace themselves. The green fire lingered around them for a while, causing the ship to have a few casualties when it rocked in its midair position. Once the flames died down and the people on board the Solomon regained their bearings, Leonidas looked to the front screen to find the serpent trying to make a getaway.

"I'm afraid you won't be able to get away from me that easily. Charge the Astral Busters!" Lindsey did as she was told and got the cannons readied. From outside the Solomon, Light, Krystal, and everyone else watched in awe as a strip of the battleship's side panels pulled away magnetically from the ship to reveal two prongs on each side. One prong on top and the other on the bottom, the same went for the other side of the ship. They watched as long strands of electricity began to concentrate itself into a high pressure force.

The serpent was getting farther away, but Leonidas wasn't about to just let the monster leave without being fried to a crisp. "FIRE!!!" The electrical particles gathered and right when it was about to blast at the creature… the concentrated bursts fizzled out. Leonidas's face fell, "What happened? Allistor, status report."

Allistor looked up from his console and looked to his superior. "I'm afraid it's our energy reserves. They were just too low to begin with."

Leonidas growled in frustration. "I was afraid of this. We started the Solomon too early." He didn't want to let the serpent get away but the Solomon couldn't finish it off in the condition it currently was in. They all watched the serpent get away from them and their morale began to dwindle rapidly before them. That creature managed to endure such an onslaught and was escaping from them when they thought they had it for sure. It kept slamming what was left of its tail and body on the trees in front of it to make a clear path for itself.

Their moods changed from disappointment to confusion as a blue vortex opened up in the sky. The serpent didn't stop to look at what was occurring in the night sky. It only kept thrashing about, causing more civilians to run away in panic with their families and attacking guards to fall to the ground.

The vortex shone with a powerful blue glow in the night sky above. Light and Krystal, the others around them included, watched with trepidation as the heavens split open. They knew not of what was to become of them with this new development. Would it be hope that came out, or the beginnings to a new disaster?

Out of the vortex appeared a ship of all things. After a silent moment or two, the ones inside the ship apparently saw the plight of the running people on the planet's surface. The alien space craft locked on target with the giant serpent in their cross hairs and quickly fired a powerful enough particle blast that vaporized the beast's head and shredding its snake-like body to blazing ribbons. The group looked on and stared in disbelief at their saviors. Cerinian civilians, and soldiers that were coming to, slowly and cautiously moved out of their hiding places and evacuation shelters to see whom or what had just saved them the serpent creature's monstrous wrath. The ship looked familiar to Light from where he was standing, but he couldn't figure out why until he saw its red insignia on the side. It was still night, but the surrounding lights gave him a good enough sight to see what that insignia was.

The ship was a blast from the past for him, as well as his friends. It was the 'Great Fox.' Krystal didn't recognize the ship, but Light did, and judging from his widened eyes, Krystal knew that Light had an idea as to who that huge ship belonged to. Then something strange happened. Krystal took a moment to look up at the ship that had just saved them and she thought she saw a figure in the alien ship's command window. She could have sworn that the figure straight back at her. Before any new information could be processed in her mind, Krystal fell on her knees so suddenly. She began to hold her head in pain. Memories she never had filled her mind and a large portion of those memories involved her and another person who looked a bit like her own people. While Light and the others were attending to Krystal, several people from the alien ship were experiencing the same terrible head throbbing event as her.


	9. The Fox's Call

**Author's Note****: After two long, test filled, weeks, the eighth chapter is finally here and some of you have waited over a year this encounter. You'll actually have to wait two more weeks until the fateful encounter between Fox and Light. Evil, I know. Check out my profile page and tell me which possible fanfiction stories you think I should do later. They are not Starfox, although depending on the number of reviews I get, I may do one more after this. Just be sure to visit and tell me what you think. And for those who don't know, Randorn is the name of Krystal's father from the original Dinosaur Planet data. I'm playing on the idea that some of the original data was changed, hidden, and left behind to never be released to the public.**

**To SpyketheWolf****: Look at my author's note if you already haven't about Randorn.**

**To Champ11****: I do mean saber and not sabot. I've done some research on the internet and either they both exist and do basically the same thing, or they are the same thing and have two different names. I've always heard saber and not sabot, but I could be wrong. I couldn't really that much information on them, at least not for what I was looking for. If I am, I'll just say that they are an original weapon invented from my mind for this story.**

**To STARFOXLOVER61900****: In the story ideas mentioned above, tell me in your review which one you like the most. The story I make may feature you in it, as you requested, though there isn't a guarantee. Nor can I guarantee you to be the main character. You could be anything from a main character, to a support character, or even a villain.**

**To everyone else****: Enjoy the chapter, and please Read & Review. It would be much appreciated.**

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**Chapter 8**

**The Fox's Call**

Stationed one thousand miles from Corneria's orbit, was the famous mercenary ship, the Great Fox. The ship was a powerful force to be reckoned with. The hind thrusters, although they were normally propelling the ship through space, were currently shut off. It's white, steel body and four wings in a 'X' formation, and the insignia of a red winged fox, gave the Great Fox its unique look. The ship and its passengers were off duty for the moment to have rest.

Although there is no morning or evening in space, that doesn't mean its occupants were insomniacs. The ship's crew was sleeping the proverbial night away… except its leader.

Fox McCloud, and his band of fellow mercenaries, was household names to the people of the Lylat system. Together they were called Starfox. They were the best star fighter pilots that had ever lived.

Peppy Hare, the former general of the Cornerian forces, doubled as both a veteran pilot and the strategic advisor to the team.

Slippy Toad was the team's techie and maintenance engineer for the entire ship, but he served well enough as a pilot and he often gave a distinct advantage to his fellow wing men in battle.

Falco Lombardi could have been described as the enigmatic hotshot pilot. The avian was also the most reckless and fun loving of the team's members. The bird man was second only to Fox in terms of fighter pilot skill. Because of this, even though he was good blue friend to his team, his enemies tended to refer to him instead as the blue fiend.

And then there was Fox himself, the most courageous and the best pilot of the Starfox team. He was always the first one to fly into the fray of the battle, as well as the last to leave once things are said and done.

It has been a few years since the end of the war with the Angler Empire of planet Venom. The team had not been able to have a major contract in a long time. They were still getting some odd jobs, such as dealing with smugglers and pirates, but the real money just wasn't pouring in as it used to. All of the action that made the job fun was almost entirely gone.

While his teammates were sleeping in their quarters and R.O.B, their bronze maintenance droid, was shut off, Fox was at his personal work station in the command center going over some navigational charts. The team had been exhausted recently. It wasn't because they were being overworked; it was actually because they were so underworked that their constant boredom making them tired. Unlike most working people, they liked to work. They weren't ones for the monotony of everyday life. Fox was trying to decide on where to go and find a place to take the team for a little refreshing vacation. Having almost no work with little to no recreation wasn't good for the skills of a pilot. He was looking into a resort on Corneria called Valhalla that looked rather promising.

The resort was both a spa and a place for pilots of all kinds to come test their skills against each other in VR air combat. The resort vacation should help the team a lot for when they started taking missions again.

Although fox was trying to find a way to help the team do some relaxing, it was really Fox who actually needed to do a little relaxing. Over close to the last ten years, he had been doing nothing but work to keep his hands tied. Neither he, nor his team, were sure why he has acted the way he had over the years.

Falco, aroused from a bad night of sleep, walked into the command center to check on the security. It was something to do to keep him occupied for a little while until he was able to go back to sleep again. He stopped to look at Fox, whom he had assumed to have been in bed already. Falco sighed and walked up behind the orange vulpine, who didn't notice his friend come up to him. "What are you still doing up?"

Fox didn't turn around to acknowledge that his friend had spoken to him, but he did speak. "I'm just going over these navigational charts here. What do you think of this resort near the Pinnacle Sea? I think I've heard that they have the best massage service in all of Lylat." Falco knew that Fox was trying to direct his question away from the real conversation Falco wanted to get into.

"Listen Fox. I know what you're trying to do, but it's not going to work this time. Out of all of us, you've been working the hardest. Just take a break man; you've more than earned it." Fox gave a long yawn that betrayed how tired he was. "See?"

Fox tiredly relented to Falco's argument. "You're right. I guess I'll go get some shut eye" Fox put down the charts onto his desk to look at in the morning and stood from his seat. "I'll leave things here to you."

"Got it." Falco sat down in his seat and Fox exited the command center to go inside of his private quarters. The halls of the Great fox, when most of the power was shot off, were dark and unsettling even though it was completely safe on the inside. Fox wasn't worried about any of that though. He was simply too tired. 'Perhaps a nice long rest would be good for me,' he thought to himself. He arrived to his room and opened it. The room was a plain white with bluish-grey carpeting. In the room was a work desk with data pads for reading, various kinds of machine parts to analyze and put together, and a single bed, of which… he was the only occupant of.

Fox had been thinking about a lot of things recently. He walked over to his bed and crashed on to it. As soon as he got comfortable under the comforters, he stared at the ceiling and started thinking again for the millionth time since he turned twenty-six.

Over the course of his lifetime, he was able take down the mad scientist, Dr. Andross, put an end to the invasive terror of the insectoid Aparoids, and pushed back the Angler Empire's conquest for interplanetary domination.

Through the hardships of all of these accomplishments, they weren't alone. They had the help of friends, allies…, and family. Peppy's daughter helped them for a while in her father's stead until he came back to the team to help them. She was spending her time on Corneria as a junior-high school teacher.

Slippy's fiancé, now wife, Amanda decided to join them and their group when Slippy came back to the team when war broke out. She was currently doing some research for a military instillation on Aquas, so she wouldn't be returning to the Great Fox for a couple weeks. It was a good thing really; she would be able to bring in a nice and hefty check with her.

Falco had Katt. It was mostly an off and on relationship, but it seemed like the two were really involved with each other... sort of? Katt did help them out on numerous occasions. The team's relationships were going pretty well. Fox's social life was something he often put into question. Even though he was hailed as a hero and had more honors and rewards than anyone else in Lylat… what did he really have? Something important was missing in his life. There was only so much happiness material goods can bring. What he really wanted was someone to share his accomplishments with. He wanted a wife. He wanted a family. He shook these thoughts away from him.

Fox turned on his side and decided to let sleep claim him after so many sleepless night. Thinking about that sort of stuff only brought him pain and heartache anyway.

The next morning, Fox got out of bed feeling better than he had in a long time. He felt that the rest he was advised to take was refreshing, rejuvenating, and just what he's needed. He could still feel those holes in his life, but at least he was feeling a little better at the moment.

Fox exited his room and made his way straight to the mess hall to get some food. He walked in and found R.O.B at the cook's counter, already preparing some food. "So what's on the menu this Morning R.O.B?"

The bronze robot turned away from the grill and answered Fox in its mechanical voice. "Today's breakfast menu is eggs, bacon, and pancakes."

"Did you give Falco some eggs as well," Fox joked to R.O.B.

"That would be both illogical and insensitive," it replied in its mechanical monotone voice. Fox laughed at the machine's answer. R.O.B. turned back to the grill and gathered a plate of food for Fox and handed it to him. "Have a good morning."

Fox took his food and started making his way to the break room. "I will. See you on the bridge R.O.B." Fox, with food in hand, walked into the break room and found Falco and Slippy enjoying their meal at the closer of the two tables. The room itself consisted of the two eating tables, a billiards table, and a cappuccino machine. The walls and ceiling of the room, just like the rest of the ship, was a very clean white that seemed to shine and sparkle. Fox walked over to his two friends and sat down with them. "Morning, guys."

"Morning, Fox," Slippy greeted with an enthusiastic grin. He was always the most cheerful of the four, and always looking on the bright side of things. He never failed to make Fox feel a little better when he feeling down.

"So, did you manage to get some sleep?" Falco asked casually. Fox nodded. "Finally," the avian said as he rolled his eyes.

"Are you feeling well, Fox," Slippy asked with a small amount of concern evident in his voice.

Fox nodded his head. "Yeah, don't worry. Everything's fine, Slip'." Slippy had a feeling that there was more going on then Fox was willing to divulge, but he decided to let it go. Fox was tough. If he decided that he would like to talk to someone about whatever problem he was having, he would. "So, how are the upgrades to the arwings?"

This basically shut Slippy up about what was wrong with Fox and immediately changed the subject to something Slippy was extremely enthusiastic about. "Not bad. I've made the lasers thirty percent more powerful and the acceleration has twenty-four percent more thrust. That's all I've got so far. I've been trying to reconfigure the G-Diffus…"

"Guys!" Before Slippy could go on a speedy explanation about what he was planning on doing with the G-Diffuser, Peppy ran into the mess hall where the three who were already there was trying to enjoy their little meal together. The brown hare stopped with a skid and looked like he was panting and wheezing. "You guys need to come with me! General Pepper's on the com link. He says he has a huge assignment for us!" Those last few words immediately registered itself in Falco's head.

"Wait a minute. An _actual_ assignment?! With a ton of Money involved?!" Peppy nodded and that was all the convincing the avian needed. Falco urgently leapt over the table and started to sprint past the rabbit and to the bridge. "Last one there is an ugly toad," he exclaimed on his way out. Slippy ran out right after while stating, "I resent that remark." Fox just laughed and ran out with Peppy on his tail.

On the way to the bridge, Fox looked to Peppy and asked, "What kind of mission are we getting this time?"

Peppy didn't look at Fox, but answered while keeping his face forward. "I'm not sure. Whatever it is though, it's been automatically labeled as a code blue situation. He said it possibly has a change to change over to code black." Fox's eyes and eyebrows alike rose at this startling piece of information. This was very serious. Something big must have happened or was about to happen. It probably wasn't anything good either. It was a good thing that they were finally getting a big mission, which probably also had just as big of a financial contract to it, but they were just about to go on a vacation. Oh well, they'll just have to put it on hold.

It didn't take them very long to get to the bridge. Once they arrived, they were greeted to the sight of General Pepper's hologram body. "Starfox, it's good to see you all again. I wish it was under better circumstances though." The team stood in attention out of respect for the General's position.

Fox gave a salute and began to speak for everyone. "As do we, sir. So what's the situation this time? Is it another invasion?" At the suggestion, both Fox and Falco were practically salivating from the possibility of getting some real action.

Pepper shook his head. "I'm afraid it isn't anything that simple. Not too long ago, we recorded a strange signal coming from a quantum anomaly that just popped into existence in an empty pocket of space near the vicinity of Sauria, the dinosaur planet. Interestingly enough, the anomaly appeared in the exact same coordinates of a planet that disappeared some ten years ago. The signal this wavelength is giving off is something we've never seen before. We tried to dissect the signal but the pure power of it fried the Cornerian military mainframe." A quiet gasp filled the room. A signal _fried_ the Cornerian mainframe? Was there really something out there in this spacial void powerful enough to do that at such a long distance? These questions raced through their minds. "Bear in mind gentleman that this wasn't even the strangest part."

"You mean there's more?" Falco asked in disbelief.

"Unfortunately, yes. A short time after this anomaly formed, a second signal appeared for a few brief moments from within the anomaly. When the second signal disappeared, we detected signs of a life form in its place. We tried to analyze it with a modified version of Slippy's analysis gauge, but what we were measuring was off the charts."

One word, as impossible as it may sound, came to Fox's mind. Andross! "Sir, do you think it may be another one of Andross's bio weapons. We do know for a fact that some of them had an internal timer for when they start up."

The old dog was contemplative for a moment, but it didn't take long or him to give Fox an answer. "Although I certainly wouldn't doubt it if that were true, I do have a terrible feeling that Andross didn't have a hand in this one."

That statement stroke Slippy as a little odd. "Wait a minute. Wouldn't that be a good thing?"

"Normally, yes. There are just too many variables for me to make a conclusion at present though. Plus, I've all of Andross's records myself and none of them indicate that he was capable of conducting experiments such as this. Just be careful as you investigate this… thing."

Fox nodded and gave the General a salute. "Will do, sir." General Pepper returned the salute and his holographic image faded before their eyes. "Alright, team. We have our objective and our coordinates. Everyone, to your stations." The team scrambled to their work stations and Fox turned to R.O.B. "R.O.B., take us to our destination."

"Confirmed," R.O.B. said to show he was complying with his new order.

The journey to the area of space that the General pointed out to them was relatively smooth. They did have to try to navigate their way through a meteor shower, which was slowing down their progress immensely. They had come to the decision that they couldn't let the asteroids hinder them any longer. Fox, Falco, and Slippy got into their modified personalized arwings and launched to started blasting the asteroids to clear a path for the Great Fox.

Fox's arwing has had the same classic look as the past models, albeit more powerful and with a few modifications. All of the others had their ships customized into shapes that met their personal preferences for when they fought in the Angler War.

As soon as their flagship had a clear path, Starfox flew into the hanger and landed their fighter crafts. Other than that little clean up, the rest of the trip became rather uneventful. However, just because things were calm at that point in time didn't mean it was going to be when they reached their target investigation site. They were nervous about this whole mission. Whatever this life form was, if Slippy's machines weren't able to provide a proper analysis, then it had to be something powerful… and most likely, dangerous.

The team arrived to the coordinates a projected General Pepper had given out to them. There was nothing there, or so it seemed. "So, where is it?" Falco said with annoyance.

"Hmm." Peppy started scratching his head in confusion. "It's possible that we were given the wrong coordinates. Fox thought about what they could try to do for this kind of situation. A thought came to him.

"Hey Slip, can you bring up the infrared screen." Slippy wondered what Fox was thinking but did so anyway. After he flipped some switches, the main viewing window changed to the infrared screen and made all team members present stare in wonder and fear. While space was black as it usually was, they could see a cold black, spiraling tunnel in the midst of the blue that represented space on the infrared screen.

Peppy could only stare at it, but found the words to voice his thoughts. "What in the world? I've never seen anything like this before in my life." Peppy turned to Fox, who seemed to have been drawn in by the anomaly, "I don't like this, Fox."

Fox stayed quiet for a few moments before he gained a new sense of determination. Something was calling out to him and he didn't know why, but he was going to find out. "Like it or not, we're going in."

Slippy looked from his courageous friend to the rippling tunnel. "I sure hope you're sure about this, fox."

"I am." Fox went to stand beside R.O.B. "R.O.B., take us in."

"Confirmed."

With that, the bronze android steered the Great Fox deep into the doorway that would lead them to whatever they were trying to look for. Once they were inside the tunnel, they looked around themselves. The main viewing screen was turned back on and it allowed them to experience the amazing tie-dye of constantly swirling blue and white light as they traveled through the straight tunnel. The funky colors had the group mesmerized and held their full attention. To Slippy, it was like traveling through the circuit of a super computer.

It wasn't until the team reached the end of the tunnel did they break out of their reveries. It was dark on the inside except for the colors of the tunnel walls. It wasn't long beforeIt was evening in this new world that they arrived to, but there was some kind of commotion below them on the surface of the alien world. Fox looked to see what was going on and saw civilians running from something big. "Slippy, zoom in on that black creature!"

The screen zoomed in on the creature and Fox instantly knew that this giant black serpent was their objective. He wasn't sure if it was one of Andross's bio weapons, but he could clearly see that the people down below were in trouble. "It already looks pretty torn up," Falco observed. "Look, it's another ship. They must have already been fighting this thing for a while now."

Fox gave his friend a smile. "Then how about we help finish it for them."

Falco returned the smile, "I like the way you think."

Fox's smile straightened up into serious expression. "R.O.B., fire the particle cannon!" Almost as if it was automatic, the android adjusted the front-right particle cannon to aim at the top of the creature's head from above and blasted a destructive projectile downward. The dark serpent raised it's head up in time to get a face full of death.

"Score one for us," exclaimed Falco with a winged fist in the air.

"It was already weakened for us," pointed out Peppy. "Alright, let's land at a port and get some answers. Someone down there might know what's going on." While Peppy said this, something on screen caught Fox's eye.

"Hol… hold on a moment guys. Slippy, can you zoom in on that area?" Slippy did so and what they saw was a blue and white female vulpine that looked strangely familiar to all of them, even they were sure they had never seen this person before in their entire life.

A moment after each one of them saw the vulpine woman, each team member on the bridge, with the exception of R.O.B, fell down in agony. Memories they never had before filled their minds, and almost all of them involved this blue furred lady. These new memories felt very significant to all of them. But none more so than Fox, who saw himself married with this beautiful angel, and they even had a child? A name revealed itself to his mind, and he shouted it out like his life and soul depended on it. "KRYSTAL!!!"


	10. Paradox Child

**Author's Note:**** Sorry for putting this up today instead of yesterday. Normally I do my editing Friday's, but I was too tuckered out and brain dead to do that because of all of the studying and testing I had to do. They always seem to want to jam everything they can down your throats before the start of Spring Break. Oh well, here is the next chapter and it's the longest one so far; there will be longer ones still. I have to say though, that this was the most tedious chapter so far. It may be a boring chapter, albeit with some pretty awkward moments, but there was no way getting around it. Don't worry guys, the action will come soon, I can promise that after a couple more chapters. And more good news, since its Spring Break, I have so much more time to write. That means I'll try to get another chapter out this Saturday.**

**To graystripe: ****Are you talking about Krystal's brother? If you are then you must know that when I mentioned something called both 'saber' and 'sabot,' I was actually talking about a super heated ammunition round. It can go by both of those names, but Krystal's brother name is just Saber and nothing can change that, so there are no worries there. **

**To Star Fox Runner:**** We'll have to see what happens as the story unfolds. Even though the story is marked OC/Krystal/Fox, there has to be a winner for the fair lady's heart or else the story won't have a satisfying ending. I think it's best to say don't count your chickens before they hatch, because I can safely say that with as many unexpected twists and turns in this roller coaster of emotion and adventure, it's best to just ride it out to the end. **

**To KryzKrn:**** Thanks the suggestion you gave me. I did look at one of the ones you wanted me to use, and I found that one of them worked for the story's purposes. So thanks there.**

**To everyone:**** Please READ & REVIEW everyone. All comments are read and loved. They fuel this story and my drive to complete it. **

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Chapter 9**

**Paradox Child**

Light, Krystal, and all others present watched as the ships of their late night rescuers docked in the palace docking bay. The palace had sustained an extensive amount of damage, but the repairs were well under way. The palace's front entrance was nothing more than a bunch of ruins and was now unusable. Several of the palace guards led the large party to the back entrance facing the forest, which was the preferable way to get the royal docking bay.

The group walked through the metallic silver halls, being led by King Randorn, to reach the fifteen foot entrance to the hanger. Along the way, they passed the infirmary, whose automatic door was fixed to stay open to allow more injured guards to come in and get medical attention without being impeded. Most of the group just kept looking forward, but Nat and Alex turned to look inside and cringed at the sight of the guards, who had fought against the serpent, screaming in pain as broken and fractured bones were being set in place.

"Alex, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Nat asked, with eyes still in the direction of the infirmary they just walked past.

"That we're going to get dragged into another crazy adventure?" Alex asked, almost as scared as his friend.

"Yup. We're screwed."

As the group kept pace with Randorn and Mira, Krystal and Light were having trouble organizing their thoughts. However, they both had their own reasons.

Krystal kept rummaging through these new memories in her head to try to make some sense out of this situation. She felt that she couldn't. It was like she had the memories of two different life times in her head. And she did, that much she was beginning to understand. What was bothering her most about the new memories was the person she saw herself with in the majority of them. Fox.

Light had talked about him several times before, or at least tried to. Every time Light talked about Fox, she saw a bit of sadness in his eyes. She would always stop him from talking about Fox when she felt that feeling well up inside of him. It was like Light was comparing himself to the orange vulpine in his mind, and never being able to find a quality about him that would justify him being with her. If that ship was the Great Fox, as her new memories were forcing her to know, then she wasn't looking forward to the encounter that may have been closing in on them. That still didn't answer the question on as to how these new memories were triggered.

Just as Krystal thought, Light was not feeling well at all. After Krystal had told the entire group about these new memories on the way back to the palace, although not in great detail, Light began to feel that familiar kind of sadness wash over him. It had been a few years since he had last felt this way. Inadequate. Light was afraid. Even after Krystal had decided to stay with him, Light couldn't help but feel that since he first activated the magic in his staff, that he had imprisoned her against her will in the real world. Just telling Krystal that he loved her, even though she constantly tells him that it's not true, only served to make him think that she allowed herself to become a prisoner out of pity for his existence. Just the thought of meeting Fox, whom Light sometimes thought was still the better of the two of them, made him feel like a thieving troll.

Light turned to his children out in front with Krystal walking beside them to draw some comfort and ease his troubled mind. Dawn didn't know anything of what was going on in her parent's thoughts. She was blissfully unaware with her brown tale wagging along and Light preferred it that way. She would often give her mother some sidelong glances every now and then in concern, but she didn't worry herself too much over it because she thought of her parents as the strongest people the world. In her eyes, they were invincible in both body and mind.

Light turned to the space on the little girl's left and looked at his son. It didn't take long for Light to notice that something was out of place with Dusk. Dusk was wearing the same expression as he usually does when Marcus takes over. If it was as Light feared, then this encounter with Fox might end up becoming a real life nightmare. Especially if some of his and Krystal's theories ended up being right.

Nat, Chris, and Alex were thinking and whispering the same thoughts as Light and Krystal had to themselves. "This is definitely not a good thing," Nat whispered to the other two.

"I know. I'm kind of afraid to see what's going to happen in the next five minutes or so, but I also can't help but feel a little nostalgic. Is that a bad thing?" Alex answered in the same hushed voice.

"Depends," said Chris. "Is your name Light?" Alex saw what his friend meant. This probably wasn't going to end well for anyone, especially for their good friend.

Mira, Randorn, and Sabre were keeping their heads straight as they moved in front of everyone, but they were listening in on Nat, Chris, and Alex's small conversation with interest. Krystal had also heard what the three were saying, but said nothing. She didn't ask for these memories, nor did she want them. They only fought against everything she had come to know over the last decade.

They arrived at the entrance after only a small amount of time passed in silence. The futuristic door opened with a swoosh, giving the party a view of what was inside. The inside of the docking bay was huge. It was about the size of five football fields. Most of the huge structure was underground to protect from attacks. From the looks of it to all humans present, this was also where many of the military crafts and equipment were kept for storage. To Brandon, his squad, and the field explorers, the sight of so many advanced ships was eye candy to them. It was only two of the ships inside of the big hanger that caught everyone's attention.

The closer of the two ships in question was already fully docked, while the Great Fox was still finishing up the rest of the docking procedures. The Solomon's boarding platform opened before them and Allistor, with Lindsey following close behind, were the first to step out and greet them. The two walked hand-in-hand to the others with smiles on their faces. Allistor and Lindsey had been married to each other for about eight years. All those years of getting to know one another and working together had convinced them to be together. They even had a seven year old daughter together.

"Hey, guys," Allistor called out.

"How is everything going? Are you all fine?"Lindsey finished for him. Krystal stepped up to Lindsey and gave the woman a big hug. Lindsey was Krystal's first female human friend after all.

"We're doing fine, but what are you two doing here?! And what was that… thing that attacked us?!"

Allistor answered for Lindsey with a straight face that showed his seriousness. "I'm sorry, but we can't really say anything. I can tell you that we do know what that serpent was, but it's best that you hear everything from Leonidas." Randorn stepped in front of Krystal and put on his diplomacy face. The King extended his hand and Allistor took it, showing the same diplomatic demeanor.

"I am King Randorn."

"And I'm Allistor Kindley." Randorn and Mira looked over the human before them. Allistor wore light-brown khaki pants, a white button-up shirt with short sleeves, and a brown car hart jacket. A dark brown hat adorned his wavy gold head. At his side was a tan work pouch that was probably full of tools.

"Judging from your garb, you must be an explorer."

"Close enough, I'm an archaeologist. I'm also this boy's uncle." Randorn and Mira looked to Light and saw a slight resemblance between the two. It wasn't a large resemblance, but it was there.

"I can see that. Now about everything that has transpired as of late, you say this Leonidas will explain everything, right?" Allistor nodded.

"He will explain everything he is able to in a safe location."

"And what location would that be, might I ask?" Mira questioned.

"At our headquarters." All four Cerinian's present looked at each other in confusion. Krystal, and all those who knew Allistor, was especially vexed. First it was the ship and now it was some mysterious base. They were all wondering what Allistor and Lindsey had involved themselves in. "When it comes to the Void, much like the one you just encountered, our headquarters is the safest place to be. Not only that, there are many important things in our facility that you must see in order to believe the things Leonidas is going to tell you." Randorn, Mira, and Sabre gathered themselves together to converse. They turned back to Allistor and agreed reluctantly. They figured that they really had no choice seeing as how Allistor, Lindsey, and this Leonidas person, knew what kind of a problem they seemed to be facing.

Away from the group who was meeting Allistor and Lindsey, the Great Fox had just finished up it's docking procedures. The Starfox team was exiting their ship when Fox saw that blue and white angel again. The crew was still very confused about the new memories they had received, but the memories seemed… natural. Only one thing was on Fox's mind at the moment however, and that was Krystal. He didn't know this wonderful girl, but yet he did know her. It was the strangest experience he had ever had. Peppy, Falco, and Slippy also weren't sure of what to think of all this.

As soon he stepped off of the boarding plank, he made a quick jog over to the group ahead of him and stopped in front of them. "Krystal!" They all looked at him like he was the strangest thing they had ever seen. Then he wrapped his arms around Krystal, his hands on the small of her back.

Light's eyes instantly flared in jealousy, everyone else was in shock at seeing this. Krystal was angry, partly because of where his hands were and mostly because he was doing this in front of her husband. Seeing as how he probably did not know what he was doing, she didn't punch him. Krystal freed herself from his firm grasp and pushed him a foot away. Fox didn't understand why she did that… then again… perhaps he could. These memories of his were new and she might not have had them. It was very possible that these memories were false too. Fox scolded himself for letting his emotions get the better of him. "Um… forgive me. I guess an explanation is in order." Fox extended his hand to Krystal and went into introductions mode. "My name is…"

"…Fox," Krystal stated as a matter of fact. Fox was surprised for a moment before he realized how.

"Wait a minute. Did you also get some strange memories?" Krystal nodded.

"Yes, I did. It's a strange thing, isn't it?"

Fox grinned brightly and nodded to her. "Yeah. I've really never experience anything like this before."

"Neither have I." Krystal his hand and shook it respectfully. "My name is Krystal."

"I knew that. The new memories, remember?" he said with his eyes closed and that same smile on his face. To him, it was safe enough to deduce that these knew memories were not fabricated.

Krystal decided it was time to introduce the people around her to him. "This is my mother, father, and brother." The mentioned three shook hands in turn while sizing up Fox. All three of them silently came to a decision, especially after the smile he was giving Krystal and none more eagerly than King Randorn, that Fox should be the one married to Krystal instead of this… ape. They all had the same comparisons in mind. Fox was more handsome, looked strong, courageous, charismatic, and an all around better choice to them. "These are my friends, Nat, Chris, and Alex." Fox thought they were a strange looking species but he wasn't one to judge people by their looks. He did seem a bit wary because of their ape-like features, but shook hands with them as well.

The three guys were a little bit nervous because their main focus was on Light. That hug Fox gave Krystal certainly looked friendly to them. A little _too_ friendly. Light certainly didn't seem to like it when Fox wrapped his hands around his wife's waist. He controlled himself from doing anything rash and that was a good thing. This entire day had been trying to his mental and emotional state.

"These two are Allistor and Lindsey. They are some of the people in charge of this ship." Fox shook their hands as well. Lindsey first, and then Allistor.

Allistor gave Fox a strong grip to go along with his hand shake and he possessed a serious expression. The archaeologist was well aware of who Fox was and his relation to Krystal in his game dimension. "As she said, I'm Allistor. However, the one in charge of the ship is Leonidas. You may get to meet him later. In fact, I'm sure of it." Fox nodded, but didn't say anything back. Allistor's comment and demeanor seemed strange to him.

Krystal turned to the little brown-haired girl at her side. "This is my daughter, Dawn." Fox froze. For a moment, he didn't know what the think, say, or do. He felt like his mind and heart break, seemingly prematurely. Those words hit him in the gullet… hard. The angel in his eagerly accepted new memories had a daughter!

"Then… does that mean your… married?!" Fox choked out the words as he looked down at the little girl who was innocently smiling at him. It seemed like his perfect world crumbled before it had a chance to begin.

"Yes." Krystal stepped aside to let Light into Fox's field of vision. "This is my husband, Light." For that instant, it was like nothing else in the cosmos existed except the two of them. In both of Fox and Light's eyes were the fires of competition and a rivalry lit. The both of them kept their faces straight for the importance of keeping up public appearances, but there was a definite static being exchanged between their gazes.

"Dad!" Everyone turned around to see who exclaimed that. It was Dusk. Krystal was confused on why Dusk yelled that out all of a sudden.

Krystal began to cautiously introduce Dusk with a suspicious glint in her eye. "And this is our son, Du…"

Before Krystal could finish her sentence, the boy proclaimed over her voice, "THAT MAN IS NOT MY FATHER!!!" The boy, who was apparently Marcus at the time, pointed a confident finger at Fox. "He is my real father!" The boy ran straight to Fox and hugged the leg of the orange vulpine. Light felt an invisible hand clutch his gut at seeing that.

Fox wasn't at all sure about what was going on, but he kind of liked the attention he was getting from the azure-haired boy. Light and Fox looked at each other in the eyes, Fox sporting a gleeful smirk. Krystal and the others were frozen in shock at what they were seeing and the awkwardness of the situation. Light felt not only shocked, but also defeated in a way he couldn't imagine.

Fox's companions walked over to where he was with the group of aliens, but they all stopped short of their destination at the strange scene before him. The silence was deafening. As weird as the King felt this was, instead of trying to get an explanation from his daughter, it was the dead of night and he wanted to go to sleep. "Listen, everyone. While I'm sure we all want an explanation to everything that has happened tonight," the King looked pointedly at Krystal and turned back to the rest. "I think its best that we get what sleep we can, and then we'll discuss this in the morning at breakfast." The King put his hand in the air and summoned his guards to send everyone to their rooms.

Throughout the night, Light, Krystal, and Fox fell asleep in their separate rooms with heavy feelings lying on their hearts. At the middle of it all was Dusk. While his mother and sister slept as best they could in one of the two beds in the room, Dusk could only cry silently in his. He felt both embarrassed and ashamed for what Marcus had done. The pain in his father's eyes tore the boy up inside. Marcus had been trying to tell Dusk how much better of a father Fox would be instead of Light. Dusk mentally cut himself off from the conversation, just as he did at his parent's reunion dinner. He pulled the cover over and tried to get some sleep. They had a long day tomorrow. 'I wish I didn't exist,' he thought to himself in a silent sob.

Once morning came, the King sent for everyone to come to the breakfast table, except the explorers from Earth. The King and Queen made special arrangements to give them a chance to walk among their people, under the watchful eyes of escorting guards of course, and learn about their culture and their technology.

The King, Queen, and Sabre were the first to enter the dining room, their food already laid out on the table before them. The rest of the large group, including Brandon and his squad, entered the room and sat down. Sitting across from Light and Krystal was Fox. Fox and Light were eyeing each other and had a sort of poker face on themselves. Fox's team and Light's friends looked at each other from their seats, feeling the tension in the air. Dawn and Dusk ate the fried drumsticks before them silently and unsure of what might happen if they said anything.

The King wanted to make sure that this awkward situation didn't implode on itself, so he decided to break the silence and turned to Fox. "Tell me, how did you and your teammates arrive to this world the way you did? Everyone at the table looked to the Starfox team for an answer to the King's question. Peppy decided he was better suited to answer.

"Back in our world, we received an urgent message from a client of ours. You see, our team is not an official military unit. We're a mercenary team and we got a contract from General Pepper of planet Corneria."

The King nodded in understanding. "Yes, I do know of that planet. I've never been there myself, but I've heard that it was a rather peaceful world."

Peppy nodded in agreement, "It is, but it's also the greatest military force in our star system. At any rate, the General came to us for an investigation assignment. He wanted us to investigate an empty area of space in the star system closest to ours that was giving off some of the strangest signals we've ever seen. As you can already see, it ended up being a doorway, or a worm hole of sorts. Before we arrived, the General's sensors picked up a powerful energy reading that originated from within the worm hole." After hearing this, Krystal's interest was grabbed. She thought that she might have had something to do with this.

"Peppy, was it? When did this signal pop up on your radars?" Krystal asked.

"It appeared yesterday at around noon for us." Krystal and the others quickly put two and two together.

"Oh, I see. The signal anomaly you picked up was the residual resonance of an invention of mine. I used it to transfer this planet from it's original dimension, time, and orbit to this universe. The signal of the temporal ripple must have been strong enough to reach you." Krystal thought to herself right then that the reason for Cerenia's disappearance might have been her… oh well. At least everything in that area was settled.

"It looks like it," Slippy agreed to her explanation. "It's a good thing we received it and got here when we did, huh?"

"Speaking of good timing, how did you manage to get here so quick when you did Professor Allistor?" Chris brought to attention.

"Well, I can't tell you much right now, what with my security clearance and all. What I can tell you right now is that we got here through an expanded version of Krystal's inventions." Krystal was bothered by this like it was some kind of a travesty towards her person.

"How!? My inventions were supposed to be well guarded secrets?"

Allistor fully understood her shock. "Be that as it may, the contract you signed with the government allows the organization I work for to view all records, blueprints, journals, and anything else related to your research and inventions. While you were constructing your machine, we were secretly building a large transportation engine based upon your working prototypes."

Krystal crossed her arms and glared daggers. "Looks like someone's in trouble," Nat began to taunt.

Allistor cringed under her gaze and felt the need to go back to the critical issue at hand. "Anyway… we detected a Void life sign during the Integration Ceremony." Krystal's parents had already known about the ceremony from what Krystal had explained to them. "So we did an emergency activation sequence to put the creature down." Allistor turned to the Starfox team. "It really is a good thing that you guys got here to finish that beastie off. Because of the emergency activation sequence we started, we didn't have time to prepare quite a few of our ship's weapons and defense systems. However, I'm quite proud of the results we got under our limiting conditions."

Falco had been keeping quiet most of the time there, considering that he didn't really have much of a clue about what was going on around here. But the avian responded to Allistor's comment. "You got that right, buddy. And now that everyone knows where everyone came from, can we talk about last night with… you know." Falco silently nodded his head toward Light and Krystal's son, who was too busy eating his drumstick to notice. Krystal nodded and looked over to Lindsey.

"Would you mind?" Krystal asked her. Lindsey shook her head and got up out of her seat.

The older woman walked around the table and got the children's attention. "Would you two mind coming with me? We can find someone to give us a tour of the palace. Does that sound good?"

"Yes," the two shouted with glee. "And can we see that big space ship, auntie Lindsey? Please," Dawn asked with a pleading look.

"Yeah, can we?" Dawn's brother started mimicking her.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get to see the ship soon enough. For now, let's just take a look around your mother's old home, okay?" The twins nodded, a little disappointed that they weren't going to see the really cool looking space ship as soon as they wanted to, but they took Lindsey's hands and left the room.

Once they were gone, Falco continued with his unspoken question. "So what was with that hug from last night? And why did the kid say Fox was his Dad?"

Krystal, Light, and their friends, and relatives present looked at each other nervously. Krystal turned to Brandon and asked, "Corporal, would you mind taking your men and waiting outside for a moment? This is a family problem we're going to talk about. So, if you would?"

"Oh it's not a problem for us, we'll be outside the door if you need us. Men." With one word, all military personnel was soon absent from the room. When the door shut, Light took the initiative to answer Falco's question.

"Well, you see, in this universe, all of you guys are actually characters in a video game series."

"A video game series?" Fox said as if these new memories and revelations weren't already antagonizing enough. This new information was almost like adding insult to injury. He sent another glare towards the younger man. If he was a video game character, then what did that make Krystal? Light just tried to ignore it and continued with what he was going to say, even though he knew this would only ignite more anger from Fox. "Yes. And it's because of that that we believe to be the reason of the problem we're having. You see, Dusk has a second personality named Marcus." That name flashed through the minds of both Krystal and the Starfox team. None more so than Fox. Memories of a young anthropomorphic fox boy flooded them all for a brief moment before Fox gestured for him to continue. Before Light went on, he saw Krystal and the Starfox team flinch for some reason. "Are you guys okay?"

Slippy replied to him with, "These weird images keep flashing through my mind. They started rushing through our heads a little after we destroyed that monster. I thought I saw Fox and your wife together and there was this blue-furred kid with them."

Light knew about the new memories Krystal had obtained through this mess, but the fact that all of the members of Starfox had them as well only served to complicate this awkward situation even further.

"What's in these new memories of yours?" Krystal asked Slippy.

"For some reason, the majority of them involve you and Fox." Krystal knew he was going to say that, but she had some small hope that he wouldn't.

Light had a feeling that he would say that too. He decided to continue from where he left off. "Anyway, after we did a bit of research, we discovered that in one of the games and in one of the possible endings…" Light kept his eyes away from a certain orange vulpine before uttering the words that he was hesitant to say. "Krystal had a child with… Fox." There was a gaping silence in the room. "We believe that Marcus is in actuality… how do I say this?"

Allistor decided to make an assist with his best guess as to what Light was trying to say properly. "The embodiment of someone who should have come to exist, but never did."

'I knew it,' Fox thought to himself. He knew there was some kind of special connection between Krystal and himself. A child between the two of them cemented his belief that they were meant for each other. However, he had to ask how she came to this universe .

"So," slowly began Fox. "How did the two of you meet?" The jealous tint in his voice was barely noticeable as he questioned Light and Krystal. The King and Queen had already heard this story once and were still reeling from the disturbing information.

Krystal took the initiative, so as to relieve some of her husband's nervousness and prevent a stand off. "It's a strange story, really. Light kinda… wished for me." Fox thought something obstructed his hearing.

"Wait a minute. I'm sorry, but I think I heard you wrong. Did you just say your husband WISHED for you?!" Krystal began to choke on a response to him.

"Well… yeah. I came to this universe because of him." Fox looked from Krystal with bewildered eyes and turned to Light with shocked eyes instead that hid the fuming feelings that were beginning to become harder to hold in. Krystal knew that Fox wouldn't like the next part, but continued anyway. "The two of us, as well as Chris, Nat, Alex, Allistor, and Lindsey," She nodded to each one of her former adventuring companions at the table as she named them, except an absent Lindsey of course. "Traveled across the Earth to find a way back to my own dimension…, but I fell in love with Light along the way. So in the end, I decided to stay with him. If not for him or the rest of my friends here, I wouldn't even have a home planet anymore. Cerinia would have been lost without them." Krystal looked to Light lovingly as she lightly squeezed his hand to show him comfort.

Fox felt that this human was the reason for the constant pain in his heart over the entirety of his career and past. He didn't have any time to dwell on this new enraging thought as the dining room doors opened and a new voice made its presence known to all members at the table.

"If you're all finished giving each other some explanations, then you all better go pack up."

"And why should we listen to you. Not only that, but who are you?! This is a private meeting," Krystal's father asked. Everyone turned to see the old sea captain turned space ship captain. The white bearded man's garb was that of what was to be expected of an old sea dog. An ocean blue overcoat with gold cufflinks, reminiscent to a pirate captain, and a lit corncob pipe hanging from the corner of his mouth completed his fashion. Allistor's friends were all as eccentric as he was, or more in some cases.

"Because I know just about everything there is to know about what that monster was, where it came from, and just what kind of peril we're truly facing. My name is Leonidas and I'm the captain of the starship, Solomon. If you really want the answers to your questions, then you'll come with us to our headquarters," he said as he took a puff from his pipe.

Krystal turned to Allistor with an investigating stare. "What kind of organization are all of you involved in anyway?!"

Allistor gave her a no nonsense expression. "P.O.U.R., the Paranormal Observational Unit Recon."


	11. POUR

**Author's Note****: Did you guys all miss me! Yeah… I'm really sorry for putting you guys through a three week wait for this chapter. I had accidentally gotten addicted to MAG and re-addicted to pokemon. I got Soulsilver version and I'm having fun with it. But anyway, here is this chapter. It's the longest so far, so I think it might have a few small mistakes fall through the cracks when I went through it, but I hope you enjoy it. Just to let you guys know, I really appreciate every review you give me. I've been checking the archive every now and then, and it seems that most stories are lucky just to get three reviews. I really appreciate your support in helping to make this story great. Thanks a lot. Now, I hope you enjoy this long awaited chapter, and remember to R&R.**

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Chapter 10**

**P.O.U.R.**

After everyone was finally up to speed, a little more so for some people than others, the Solomon and Great Fox were getting prepped and ready for launch. All those of the king's guard who were injured with cracked ribs and broken limbs from the attacking beast were being fixed up and getting the recovery they needed in the palace infirmary.

While the large team got ready, the King and Queen included, it was agreed upon that the explorers and Brandon's men stay behind on Cerinia. Most of what they were commissioned to do was help with the relief effort of those attacked by the serpent and see to some diplomacy matters with the Cerinian Senate.

All travelers, with the exception of the Starfox team were going to traveling in the Solomon. Fox however, was having second thoughts. All of this information was hard for him swallow, and he was choking on the fact that the one made for him was with another. After the dinner introductions, he left quickly without a word and a carrying a heavy and bewildered heart. His teammates knew that this was hard on their courageous leader, but they really couldn't blame him. His team was actually upset on his behalf. He had spent his entire life fighting against the scum of Lylat and had rewards and honors most could only dream about. Even with all of his accomplishments, he never really had someone to share it all with.

Falco had Katt, sometimes reluctantly, but he still did. Slippy had his fiancée, Amanda, and Peppy had his daughter. They knew the new memories they had never actually happened, but they were a window to a world that might have been. It was a world where they were all happy and had someone there for them. It was the world they all wanted to have, but it was a world a young Earthling had stolen from them.

On board the Great Fox, Fox was in the middle of doing a diagnostics test in the command room, but he couldn't think straight. He let his head fall in frustration. All of the emptiness in his life had an answer, but it wasn't the one he wanted.

Without Fox's realization of it, the automatic doors swooshed open to let the oldest Starfox member in. Peppy turned and saw his young friend and couldn't help but feel sorry for him. "Are you okay, Fox?" Fox, startled by the sudden voice of his comrade, turned with sad and confused eyes.

"No," he said after a moment of staring at the floor in silence. "I'm not okay. In all my life, there has always been one thing in this universe I've been searching for, and I thought I had finally found that one thing missing in my life. However, I come to find that it was taken from me from right under my nose." Fox looked up into his elder's eyes as if pleading. In a way, he was. "Please, can you give me any advice at all!?"

Peppy wasn't exactly sure what he could say to cheer up his young friend but he did know what he had to say to Keep him from needlessly hurting himself. "Listen, Fox. These memories of that girl, no matter how pleasant they are, don't let them affect your judgment. The Krystal we just met just now is a completely different person from the Krystal in those memories. My advice to you is to not let these new thoughts and feelings take control.

Fox was silent for a minute, his head staring down again, before he looked up slightly and murmured, "I'm riding on the Solomon."

"I beg your pardon." Peppy was hoping his large brown ears were deceiving him for once.

"I've decided to ride on the Solomon. Peppy, you have no idea what I'm feeling right now. I need to find out whether not if that Krystal is one in the same. I have to find out." The distressed look that had been carved into his features was gone and replaced with a look that radiated with the determination he had grown accustom to over their many years together.

Peppy knew that once Fox had that spark of determination, there was no way of deterring him from his goal. Peppy just sighed in resignation and said, "Okay, Fox. But I'm going to warn you, Fox. If you pursue this issue more than what's necessary, then it may lead to you getting seriously hurt."

Fox got off the ground and placed his hand on Peppy's shoulder. "Don't worry; I know what I'm doing."

Peppy sighed once more before he started walking back out the way he came. "For all of our sakes, let's hope so."

Back on the Solomon, Allistor was giving everyone, with the exception of Starfox, a short tour of the ship. He led them to the living quarters first, and Krystal made certain that Allistor put Light and herself into the same room together. It wasn't just the fact that not having her husband in bed with her didn't feel right; she wanted to make a statement to her parents. Light and her children were important to her.

Randorn and Mira saw the look their daughter was giving them, it was like she was a teenager and was trying to rebel against them. After the initial meeting with Fox, and getting some interesting information on their half-breed grandson and son-in-law, they were sure of it. The one that should be married to their daughter was Fox McCloud. If they were able to use the new memories Fox and Krystal had received, then they thought they might be able to get the two to fall in love. While Sabre agreed with his parents, he, on the other hand, didn't really think Light was so bad. However, he didn't think Light was at all good enough for his sister.

Once everyone had picked their rooms, Allistor had everyone follow him to the engine room. When they arrived, Krystal got a good look of the 'copy cat' of her Azure-Light system. It took up over half of the decently sized room. Krystal walked up to take a closer at it. It's design was much the same as her own, but with a couple minor differences. There were three energy pylons on the machine's left and right sides and it was a bronze color. Allistor walked up to her and asked, "What do you think?"

"I have to admit, it's pretty amazing. But where are the teleportation satellites?"

"They are attached to the ship, one on top and two on the underside. The unfortunate thing is that this engine system is so advanced that maintaining and using it beyond difficult. That was part of the reason why it took us so long to get here in the first. That's why I'd like to ask if you'd like to be the one in charge of the engine room?" Krystal gave him a surprised smirk.

"Well, sure. It's going to be hard to be in charge of all of this by myself though." Allistor grinned a knowing smile.

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that. We've already made prior arrangements."

Krystal's left ear twitched a little lower than her right. "Arrangements? What are you talking about?"

Allistor turned around and addressed the watching guests without acknowledging Krystal's questions. "All right, we're moving on."

Allistor and everyone finally reached the last stop on their short little tour, the bridge. As they had all expected, Leonidas was there sitting in the captain's chair before them. He turned around from where he sat and gave the group a courteous nod. "It's good to see that you finally decided to join us. The three of us were beginning to wonder if you were all going to arrive before we decided to ship out of here." Allistor was confused for a moment. Other than Lindsey and Leonidas himself, there shouldn't have been a particular third person with them. They turned to see that the third individual in question was Fox, who was just standing off to the side. Light and Fox's eyes met and Krystal immediately felt uncomfortable with the both of them staring at each other with seemingly blank expressions. Thankfully, this meeting of the eyes only lasted for a few short moments as the two broke their gazes off from one another.

Krystal turned to her kids, Dusk in particular, and hoped that Marcus didn't do anything that would cause a scene like before. Dawn was also watching her brother closely. The boy could still feel the shame he felt from the night before, like he was tainted or was diseased. Dawn gripped her brother's hand, which caused him to turn to his sister in curiosity. The little chocolate-haired girl beamed him a smile to reassure him that she and everyone else were there for him. He softly returned the smile. Krystal was happy about that. At least her children were coping well enough in this most bizarre of situations.

Back to Fox, Alex turned to the old sea captain and asked, "What's he doing here? Isn't he supposed to be on the Great Fox?"

"He asked to come aboard to observe and socialize with us for the time being, while we're on this ship. I permitted it because it would be a good idea in this kind of situation we're facing. It's better if we get to know each other on a personal level if we're to team up against the Void." Leonidas said this but, he knew of the supposed history between Fox and Krystal. However, it was in the group's best interest that they got to know each other as a team. He only hoped that his decision didn't blow up in his face. "And now that everybody is here, I think it's time to get you all back to base and fill you in on what's been happening. Allistor, Lindsey, please start the teleportation sequence."

The two Leonidas ordered, walked over to their stations and sat down. They started typing and flipping switches rather quickly. Everyone watched from the inside as the Solomon engrossed itself in an azure light, much the same as Krystal's own machine's.

On the outside of the ship, the satellite installments were shooting rays out in front of the Solomon and started forming a circular portal. When the portal was finished, the ship slowly made it's way through the portal. The Great Fox followed closely behind, with Fox's team looking on in astonishment at this kind of advanced transportation technology. They weren't the only ones in awe. The watching public below, the ones not sleeping of course, were watching the two huge ships disappear, and praying that the royal family came back home from whatever kind of emergency they were facing.

On the other side of the portal, the two ships reappeared in a new hanger. This one caused all of the guests on board the Solomon and those on the Great Fox to drop their jaws. Judging just from the size of the massive hanger, which was filled to the brim with vehicles, the whole facility in its entirety had to have been at least two or three times the size of the Cerinian palace. The Hanger itself consisted of medic helicopters, military vehicles of all kinds, and some outlandish vehicles that they had never seen before. Brandon, Light, Nat, Alex, and even Chris, felt so out of place amongst that it almost science fiction movie-like scenery around them. Then again, what part of their lives wasn't like a science fiction movie? The twins, on the other hand, didn't feel such discomfort. They were too busy ooing and awing to notice the adults expressions on the modern marvel.

Once everyone had gotten over the surprise, both ships made their way over to the dock to wherever the flaggers needed them to dock at. The procedure didn't take long, but the pushing and shoving to get off had Mira wishing her royal status would get everyone to stand aside to let her through.

As soon as the two crews from the different ships could merge together, Leonidas made haste with them, going through the hall entrance. "Everybody, welcome to P.O.U.R., the Paranormal Observation Unit Recon. When anything strange occurs and no one else can handle it, we do." After the sea captain's little introduction, the entire group were getting themselves a really good look at the place as they walked. The place looked like something out of an episode of Star Trek. The name of the place however, gave everyone different feelings about the facility. Feelings like strange, creepy, and a mix of others. Still, Nat had the sudden urge to make light of the facility as a whole.

"Not bad. So, where's Bigfoot." Likewise, Nat was only joking and wasn't really expecting an answer. He got one anyway.

Leonidas didn't turn around as he answered Nat, "He's currently contained in cell-block M." That shut Nat up. "Don't dawdle, now," the sea captain continued. "We need to make one small pit stop before we really get down to business." Leonidas turned a corner and a minute later, led the group to the facility's cafeteria. It had about the same look as a school cafeteria, except it was twice as big as mostof them and the majority of the people there were wearing uniforms. There was one group however, that did instantly stand out to most of Leonidas' party members.

Dawn and Dusk's reactions were immediate, as the two made a quick sprint to the people sitting at the closest table. There were two people sitting at this particular table, a man and a woman. Dawn hugged the woman, and Dusk hugged the man. "Grandma! Grandpa!"

It was Light's parents. "It's good to see you too kids. Are you eating healthy?" The twins nodded eagerly to Sarah. "That's good to know." Sarah stood up and called out to Light with a great big optimistic smile. "Hi, Honey!"

"Mom? Dad?! What are you two doing here?" It wasn't just them alone, either. Chris, Nat, and Alex's families were present as well, although they looked so much more confused and nervous than his parents on why they had to be there.

Leonidas stepped up beside Light and answered for them, "In light of the situation, we decided to pick them all up and bring them here. This facility is the safest place you can be when it comes to the Void." Nat, Alex, and Chris went up to their wives, with kids in hand, and they started to demand their husbands to tell them what was the meaning of all this. Brandon also moved over to them and tried to help the guys make their families feel more at ease since he had training in negotiation while those three tried to calm their wives down, and stop them from yelling, Light and Krystal walked over to Tim and Sarah.

Randorn, Mira, and Sabre followed, seeing as how they might get some information on Krystal's husband. The three were very interesting in seeing what they could learn from these two humans. They, themselves, seemed interesting as well. They also weren't scared from being dragged from their home with no explanation either. Randorn, Mira, and Sabre didn't want to admit it, but they found that they couldn't help but like these two humans for that.

While everyone got a chance to have a reunion, Leonidas, Allistor, and Lindsey stayed with each other to discuss a few things amongst themselves as well.

The Starfox crew was staying together away from everyone else, with the exception of Peppy, who went to talk with Leonidas to ask a few general questions about the facility. Fox didn't want to just stand around and talk with his team though. He wanted to be beside Krystal, but it looked like that human's parents were there as well. He didn't know what to do, so he decided to just let this go for the moment. Now was not the time to think about such things, however, his eyes didn't help matters when they always seemed to drift over her way. Each time they did a small bubble of anger and sadness welled up inside of him. Both Falco and Slippy noticed this and sighed to themselves. They felt sorry for their friend, but he needed to accept that this Krystal was not his Krystal.

Over by Light and his parents, the young man looked at his parents calm expressions incredulously. His mother seemed unruffled by this, but Light couldn't help but be surprised at his father. Tim just sat there with a cup of Earl Grey tea in his hand and Dusk sitting in his lap. "Err… Dad, you do realize your sitting inside a top secret government facility, right?"

Light's father simply took a sip of his tea and smiled his vampire-like grin, all the while chuckling a little. "And your point, being?" he said in his usual nonchalant manner. That grin of his never ceased to scare Light out of his wits.

Light sighed, "Never mind." Light and Krystal could never figure out how it seemed like Tim was always several steps ahead of everyone else. No matter what the situation was.

Tim and Sarah pushed out of their seats, the kids jumping off as they did, and walked over to the ones behind Light and Krystal to introduce them. The kids followed and went to be with both sets of grandparents.'

Light's Dad extended his hand to Randorn, who promptly took it out of respect. "I'm glad to finally meet you. My name is Tim Kindley, and this is my wife Sarah"

Sarah smiled brightly and gave a small bow to them with her head, "It's nice to finally meet Krystal's parents. I have to say that you have such a wonderful daughter. You did an excellent job in raising her. You look awfully beautiful too, if you don't mind my saying."

Both of Krystal's parents looked stupefied at Light's parents. Mira nodded to Sarah, still surprised at the human's gestures. "Umm… thanks," was the only thing Mira could say. All three Cerinians were amazed at how, even though they were plebeians, their movements and actions flowed with the grace those of great nobility. Needless to say, they were extremely impressed with the way Light's parents carried themselves. This came as a surprise since Light didn't seem show these qualities as his parents did. The young man was polite, for sure, but didn't act like someone of noble stature. They shook hands, started talking amongst each other…, and seemed to be having a good time. In their hearts however, they still believed that Fox was better suited to be their daughter's husband. After meeting Light's parents though, they did honestly feel a little better about Light being their daughter's husband.

Off to the sidelines of this meeting, Light watched on and felt a little saddened. He was glad that his and Krystal's parents were getting along, but he stood there wishing he was with them, laughing and talking with Randorn, Mira, and Sabre. He wanted their acceptance, but understood that he was going to have to work for it. Light felt a soft hand firmly grip his shoulder and made him turn around. Krystal was giving him a look that said 'she understood how he felt.' "Try not to worry about it. I'm sure they'll come around to you eventually."

Light sighed and nodded, "I know, but can you blame me for wanting it to happen quicker." It was more of a statement than a question.

"All of us want things to happen quicker, but sometimes patience pays out in the end." That voice wasn't Krystal's, but it was welcomed all the same. Light and Krystal turned behind them to see…

"… Joel?!" Krystal and Light exclaimed in confused unison.

The quirky lab assistant raised his hand level with his head and waved at them by wiggling his fingers up and down. "Hey, guys," he said with a smile.

Krystal seemed a little star struck to see her raven-haired partner in front of her again. "Joel, what in the world are you doing he…, wait a minute, you're my partner on the Solomon's engine, aren't you?"

He flashed her a peace symbol with his fingers and smiled harder, "Bingo. One minute I'm at home, working on a personal project, and the next minute, I'm literally bagged, dragged here, and given the opportunity of a lifetime. You can never be too surprised how this strange universe works. And don't worry about explaining what's happening to me. I've already been fully debriefed on everything, including your… apparent history with those Starfox folks over there." Krystal began to feel a little unease creep in.

"Sorry, Joel, but this isn't a good subject for her to be on right now," Light answered for her.

Joel nodded in understanding, "I completely understand. I heard that things did get quite rough up above, physically, mentally, and… emotionally." Light's head drooped down and he managed to give a small nod to say the young scientist was right.

Before anyone in any of the groups could say anymore, Leonidas made a loud bellow that echoed through the huge room to gain everyone's attention and make an announcement. "Okay, all reunions and conversations are officially over. It's time for some business. But first, I'd like to ask Alex, Chris, and Nat's families to follow the guide over on the other end of the room. Your host will lead you to the facilities spa n' treatment center and game room lodge, so please enjoy all we have offer at these facilities." Once they had gone, Leonidas looked over to Light's parents and ask, "Mr. and Mrs. Kindley, if you don't mind, I'd like to ask if you'd take Dawn and Dusk to join the other families as well. Unlike the rest of them, you'll be joining us on this little adventure as well, for reasons I can't fully divulge to you at this time. But I assure you that you will be debriefed later."

Light's father nodded, while his mother squealed in delight. "Oh, come on kids, let's go have some fun." The kids yelled delightedly and grabbed one of their grandmother's hands and started running with her down the hall everyone else left through.

Tim gave a light chuckle and uttered out loud to himself, "It'll be like a third honeymoon." Then he left the rest of them to go join his wife and grandkids.

When Light's father was gone, Leonidas addressed Brandon. "Unfortunately, soldier, I can't give you the same luxury as them. I need you to follow Lindsey here to another area of this facility so that you'll be able to fully understand what's happening around us and learn Krystal's… true origins." Brandon looked slightly confused and turned to Krystal for an explanation.

"Don't worry, you won't have to learn too much more than you already have to. Although, you'll find the truth to be stranger than fiction." Brandon nodded to accept this answer for the moment, but was eager to learn what had been kept from him. When he left, Leonidas turned to what was left of the group before him.

"Now that we've taken care of several little issues, I want the rest of you will follow me. Along the way to our destination, I don't want any of you getting lost. During this trip, I'll take the liberty of giving you a small summary of this catastrophe, now let's make haste." Leonidas started walking one direction himself and all of the others soon followed. Leonidas wasn't kidding when he said don't get lost. They turned a corner at a multitude of different corridors, all a while with Leonidas giving them a summarization of what they were seemingly facing.

"Krystal, do you remember your honeymoon trip on my cruise liner ten years ago?"

Krystal turned to Light, whose cheeks turned a little red at the thought of their honeymoon nights on that trip. Krystal giggled slightly; while Fox, who was trailing behind, silently burned on the inside when he thought about what they had in all likelihood had done. No one noticed Fox's reaction though, except sabre, who had similar thoughts on his mind, but with not near as much malice as he used to hold for his human brother-in-law. "Yes, how could I forget?" she answered.

"From what I heard, you and Light left early during the fireworks display we gave on the last night, is that right?"

Light and Krystal were confused on where the sea captain was going with this. "Yes, but why is that so important?"

"On that last night on the ship, when all the fireworks had been dispersed, an anomaly that was clear as day and utterly terrifying appeared in the sky." That was news to Krystal and Light, they had heard that something weird had happened the next morning, but no one was willing to divulge what had actually happened, and there wasn't too much the news could say about it the next day or two, so they just left the issue alone and it never occurred again.

Chris' mind began to race, "Oh yeah, I remember night clearly." _They had all wondered why the strange red light they saw wasn't dissipating. Once the dancing lights from the last rocket dispersed, there was a collective gasp. It wasn't only the guests on the cruise ship or the scientists and archaeologists at the Konossos ruins, but the entire half of the world that wasn't facing away from the terrifying astral anomaly. All those who could see it, saw what looked like the veil of the night being torn with crimson tears. Once a large chunk of the darkness became completely entrapped by the zigzagging tears or cracks, the peaceful black was replaced by a sky only seen in nightmares. A gripping clutched the gullets of everyone who dared to watch as a swirling blood colored vortex could now be seen. It might have been the imaginations of the onlookers but many could have sworn that they could hear a deadly howl, one that sounded too similar to the howl of a raging twister._

_Nat, Chris, Alex, and all of their friend and family had an alarming amount of shock set on them. Alex finally said what everyone was thinking. "Oh my God!"_

_Nat stared up into sky with as much seriousness he was capable of. "This looks like trouble!" For one of the first times in his life, Chris was speechless._

"That was by far the most horrible thing I have ever seen in my life. But, what exactly was it?" Chris asked Leonidas.

"That… was the other side of existence." Many of the group's members were confused at this notion, so Allistor took charge of the conversation.

"I know he's being a bit vague, but listen to me. It's already clear to us that there are other dimensions or universes besides our own. Krystal here was the proving fact of that. We believe that every idea we have, whether it's a video game, a movie, or a book, gets its own reality. So of course the number of universes stretches on to eternity, and each of these different realities is surrounded by a dimension barrier, and each barrier connects that dimension to others with a numerous amount of different pathways, with each pathway representing a different event or idea and giving birth to a new dimension. We've come to recognize this system of pathways and dimensions as the Grand Cross."

Nat raised his voice over Allistor's to ask, while they all filed into an elevator, "You mean, like in Final Fantasy."

Allistor turned to him and nodded, "Exactly like in Final Fantasy. And we come to what you guys witnessed, on the outside of all these different pathways and dimensions are one other thing, and we call it the Void. Although it seems like nothing exists in within the Void, hence the name, terrifying and destructive creatures are born from within it, and seemingly out of thin air. Although each dimension barrier protects from invasion of the majority and most powerful of these creatures, the barriers strength fluctuates just enough to allow some of the weaker and more manageable monsters invade. Believe it or not, chupacabras, vampires, and other mythological monsters have indeed existed… and they were all creatures made from the Void."

Randorn then raised an important question, "If only weak monsters can get through, how does that explain the giant serpent that wrecked my palace?"

Allistor looked at him with all seriousness, "It's because of Krystal."

"What," Krystal said all confused and with a somber expression.

"I'm sorry, Krystal, I should have rephrased my words. It's just that your very presence in this world has created a dimensional paradox. If you had left us all those years ago, then this whole thing would never had happened. We all would have returned to our lives like it never had happened."

Krystal felt a little insulted by this, so she wanted to make a statement known. "But if I had gone back, then I wouldn't have had the chance to have a future with Light…," '…but one with Fox,' she thought to herself as she glanced at the orange vulpine. His eyes caught hers and they stayed like that for a second before she forced her eyes away.

"I know," Allistor responded. "Your choices are your own. We, as individuals, go through life and try to make decisions to better our lives. And I think you made a good choice for yourself."

Krystal gripped Light's hand and responded, "I think so too." Light welcomed the gesture and kissed his wife.

"Thank you, Krystal." She returned his kiss as her response to him.

Allistor cleared his throat to regain control over the conversation. "Continuing on, we believe that Krystal's continued presence in this universe has weakened the barriers a little bit every day, but I think the one thing that has weakened the barriers tremendously over time is Dawn, Dusk, and Marcus's existence. Marcus is someone who was supposed to be born in another dimension and wasn't. Dawn and Dusk are two individuals who should never had existed in the first place. Put simply, they are all walking paradox boxes. However, the most influential person attributed to the barriers weakening is Dusk since he is literally harboring Marcus's unborn soul, most likely because they're of the same gender."

Light and Krystal increased the grips they had on their each other's. It was distressing to them to hear that their family was at fault for putting the whole world at risk, but they continued to suffer through Allistor's words and hear what he had to say.

"Now going back to those creatures, we don't believe they come from nothing. We believe that there exists a being hiding from inside the void that uses its own power to create these monsters to do its bidding. Back at the palace, that serpent was targeting Light and Krystal's family specifically; I don't believe that was just a coincidence. What ever this being is, I believe its trying to use Light and Krystal's family to break into our universe. For what reason, I don't know. How exactly it's trying to do it, I don't know the answer to that either."

"Then tell me," Sabre said. "How do you know so much about this, and why does this involve everybody else here." Sabre said this just as they were approaching the door to one of the many rooms in the facility.

"We know this much because…," Leonidas began to answer for Allistor. "We have this!" Leonidas slammed open the door like it was the grandest and most dramatic thing he could do in this type of situation, which in a way, it was.

What met them was a gigantic mural that scared them all to death. Allistor remembered the moment he first laid eyes upon it like it only yesterday. _The mural was indeed big, without a doubt. There was writing and inscriptions bordering the different carvings on the inside, but there was one image in particular that scared the living daylights out of him. It was the carving at the very top that portrayed a giant shadowed figure with bright violet eyes; the eyes seemed to be made out of some type of purple gem stone, but they couldn't identify what it was. Black zigzagging tentacles were drawn out of the monster's sides and it made it's way outside of the two circles in the mural's center and went towards the bottom, where black flames seemed ready to erupt into the red sky that was painted in the background. Almost everything about the mural seemed to radiate with an aura of darkness. The only thing that didn't seem to be evil was the figures carved under the black monster. That picture was of another monster but it was white in color. Surrounding it were several smaller figures… and one of those figures had a tail. _

Everyone in the room stared in awe and, to a decent degree, fear and foreboding. "We discovered this mural ten years ago. After we dug it out of Knossos ruins some months after your first escapade, and conducted many tests and studies, we've discovered some things about it that was mind boggling. While a portion of this mural was discovered to be over ten thousand years old, we found that many other portions of it, especially this part…," he pointed to the image of the floating figures, particularly the one with a tail. "…was made only a mere two weeks before we dug it out." The shock in the group's eyes' was evident. Now, Light and Krystal were sure of it. This… ultimate evil it seems… was after them.

"So," Krystal says, trying to keep what sanity she had left. "What are we going to do about this?"

"The only thing we can do. We're going to seek our answers in the only place that features similar ruins with images, lettering, and hieroglyphics that match the ones on the mural itself. Prepares yourselves well everyone, and enjoy the facilities luxuries' while you can. Tomorrow morning, we leave for the Bermuda Triangle!"


	12. In Favor of Fox

**Author's Note****: Well, It may be the middle of the week, but here is the next chapter at long last. I also have some exciting news, I'm out of school, BOO YA!' That means I'll get to write all I want, when I want. So, from now on, you'll all get one, maybe even two updates in a week. I don't know, maybe even three if I'm feeling especially ambitious. But, there is the low down on me. Summer Vacation, alright!**

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Chapter 11

**In Favor of Fox**

After having a multitude of revelations revealed to them, they all went back to the mess hall to have a bite to eat… and let the new information they've gained sink in. Each one of them expressed their surprise and fear of what might have been over the horizon in their own way. Light's friends tried not to show it, but Nat staying dead silent while eating was not a good sign. The one who was in the most distress over all of this craziness however, was Krystal.

Krystal had a plate of corn, chicken, and macaroni salad in front of her, but the only thing she did with her plate was pick at it with her fork. The past three days had been the most stressful in her entire life, and she had a feeling that the next day would be even worse. To top it off, they were on their way to the Bermuda Triangle of all places. She had learned about all sorts of places on Earth during her first couple of years as an Earth citizen, especially of the locations she had put at the top of her list of locales she did not ever want to go to. The Bermuda Triangle ranked near the top of her list, just below the Arctic after what she had learned about the Titanic.

Light turned to his wife and saw her sigh from worry. "Krystal, are you alright? You've been pretty quiet since Allistor told us about all of that stuff."

Krystal sighed once more and looked over at the next table to see the twins happily eating with Light's parents. The sight of Dusk getting food all over his face put a smile on hers. "I don't know. It's just that… so much has happened in so little time, I guess I'm just exhausted."

Light took her hand and squeezed it gently, which doesn't go unnoticed by a certain mercenary team. "I know how you feel. It's like you're stuck in slow motion while the world you is going by so fast, you can barely keep up with it all." Even while saying this to Krystal, Light was talking about himself as well. Ever since this whole mess started, beginning with Krystal's brother and meeting her parents, his relations with his family seemed to have been slowly wavering. The appearance of Fox and the new memories Krystal possessed served to only shake things up even more. He could only hope that everything didn't get out of hand before he could figure out a way to fix his family's stability.

The both of them were too deep in thought to notice a blue cloaked figure come up from behind them. They broke out of their reveries when the figure cleared his throat loudly to get their attention. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything." The two turned to see it was Leonidas who was there. "Listen, I understand that this may be a lot to take in, but Krystal, I need you to go find Joel and start calibrating and adjusting the teleporter on the Solomon."

Krystal nodded and watched the Captain walk away from them. She sat up from her seat and turned to her husband, "Well, it looks like its back to work for me." She leaned her head in and kissed Light gently before pulling away. "I guess I'll see you later then, bye."

"Later," Light said as she left to look for her raven-haired assistant. When she was gone, he looked at his empty plate. He didn't feel full, but he didn't feel like eating anymore either. Light pushed himself out of his seat and decided to go to the game room since he saw his three friends head in that direction not too long ago, after they finished eating. He wasn't worried about the kids because any time their grandparents are around, they always spent whatever time they could with them.

Across the mess hall, Fox and his team were eating their food. While most of his team conversed about the new kinds of food they were eating and about possibly going onboard the Solomon to take a tour of it, Fox had barely listened to or eaten anything. He mostly just spent his time watching Light and Krystal. When the two held hands and kissed, he thought he could feel a little bit of himself break away. They were too far away for him to be able to hear anything they said, but he was a little thankful for that. Soon, he was finally able to take notice that his team was trying talking to him.

"Fox…, Fox!" Fox reacted with a little jump in his seat before giving Slippy his full attention.

"Yeah, what?" he said trying to cover up his inattentiveness.

"The rest of us are going to go take a tour of the Solomon, do you want to come with us."

Fox waved his hand to dismiss the idea. "Naw, I'm apart of the ship's crew already, so I'll just take a look around later. You guys can go on without me and have fun."

They all knew Fox had a lot of heavy things on his mind, so they decided to just give him room to think about things and left saying, "Later, Fox." The orange-furred vulpine took the last few bites of his food, pushed the tray with an empty plate away, and laid his head on the table to rest his head while he meditated on his thoughts and feelings.

Fox had almost fallen asleep when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He yawned and tiredly opened his eyes to see Sabre behind him? "You're Sabre, right, Krystal's brother?"

"That's what they call me. Come on, I want you to follow me. My parents and I want to have a word with you." Fox raised his right eyebrow to show his confusion, but Sabre merely beckoned him further with his hand motions. Fox sighed exhaustedly and got up out of his seat to follow the younger vulpine. Sabre led Fox through the Solomon's entrance, and they walked even further until they arrived at the ship's lodging quarters. They continued through the halls until Sabre stopped at one of the rooms and opened the door to go in. Fox followed suit and saw Krystal's mother and father sitting on the bed. They had some odd looks about them, so he cautiously closed the door. He kept his hand on the door as a precaution.

Randorn and Mira stood up and walked toward Fox, but not so close he didn't have room to breathe. "Fox, ever since we first met you, my wife and I have been talking and we've come to a conclusion." Mira stepped from beside her husband and grabbed Fox's free hand in earnest, almost as if begging.

"Please, I want you to get my daughter away from that human and marry her." Fox was shocked.

"Wait a minute, what are you saying?"

Randorn decided to continue for Mira. "All we want is what's best for our daughter, and we don't believe that human is what's best. You are strong, courageous, and the best. So, will you do what we ask?" Fox couldn't believe what he was hearing, but loved it all the same. Krystal's parents were giving him their blessing to have their daughter. All he had to do was try to get Krystal to fall in love with him, like she had in his ghost memories.

He looked at them both seriously and gave them his answer, "Yes, I'll try to."

Randorn smiled and nodded to Fox, "Thank you, that's all we ask."

Quietly standing off to the side, Sabre watched the exchange between Fox and his parents with disdain. Even though he couldn't help but agree with his parents on this issue, he felt dirty all the same. He honestly didn't feel too badly about Light, but he also didn't feel that he was the one for his sister either.

Fox left the room feeling a little happier about himself. He felt so happy, that he didn't even concentrate on where he was going. When his mind finally came back to reality, he looked around to see where he was. He walked down the halls, looking for an exit as he went along. After a couple minutes of walking down random halls, he turned his head and couldn't believe his luck. Somehow, he wandered into the Solomon's engine room and found Krystal, who was in the middle of work with her human partner. For the first time since arriving to the strange universe he found himself in, he felt confident about himself. Fox decided to put that confidence to good use and walked over to her. She and her partner were sitting at a computer station and were in the middle of calibrations when he walked up to her and said, "Hi."

"Aaahh," Krystal yelped and jumped in her seat, apparently causing Joel to do the same.

"Woah, don't worry, it's just me." Krystal exhaled in relief.

"Oh, Fox, it's just you. Please don't surprise me like that, this work I'm doing is very delicate. If I make a mistake somewhere, then who knows where we might end up? With our luck, probably the inside of a volcano." Fox gave a little laugh at that.

"Somehow, I don't think that will happen. From what I hear and remember, you're a pretty good navigator, aren't you?" Krystal flashed him a friendly smile.

"You'd know it; I'm also an accomplished inventor." Krystal pointed with her thumb to the machine behind her. "This, here, is an enlarged version of one of my own inventions." Fox gave a whistle as she swiveled her chair around to give the big copy of her own machine a stare and look over. "Although, I do have to give Krieg a bit of the credit here," she said, mostly to herself.

"Who's Krieg?" asked Krystal's orange-furred visitor.

"Well…, back when I first met Light… we were stalked by a man named Krieg. He was smart, cunning, and a strong adversary. When the whole adventure came down to the wire, we fought him. We both almost lost our lives but, we managed to catch him off guard and killed him." Fox got what she was saying and was beginning to understand why Light and Krystal might have gotten together. Part of it might have been due to going through such a trauma together.

"That must have been tough."

Krystal sighed, "Yeah, but he was a cake walk compared to…, never mind, I don't really feel comfortable talking about that part of my Earth odyssey."

"Huh? Well, that's alright. It honestly isn't any of my business, can I ask what's with those friends of your husband's. Especially that guy, Nan…, Nerve?"

"Nat, or Bug as I prefer to call him. Out of the three of them, he is the most annoying of those three stooges." At this thought, Krystal threw her head back and laughed a little. "But, those three are the best and most loyal friends a person can have." She smiled as she let her memories take her back to the good old times. "Oh, the fun we had. Those were the days."

Fox smiled to himself, "I bet they wer…"

"Fox?!" someone called out from behind them. Over at the engine room's entrance was the other three Starfox team members. "What are you doing here?" Falco asked.

"Oh, I just wandered in here." Fox turned back to Krystal and said, "I've got to go. Nice talking to you."

"You too," Krystal waved as he left.

Fox walked over to where his teammates were, and the four of them walked around the corner until they had a sufficient of room and privacy to talk. Peppy stepped between Slippy and Falco gave the orange vulpine a stern look. "What's going on here Fox?"

"What do you mean, 'what's going on here?'"

"You know darn well what I mean." Falco stepped in to add his two cents about this little discovery. "Listen to us Fox, your letting these weird memories get the better of you. DON'T let them! That girl in there is not the same person in that head of yours. She's married, she has kids, just let it go, man."

Fox gave his Arian comrade a furious snarl. "I can't let it go!" The two started staring each other down, each one growling in outrage of the other. Slippy was beginning to get panicky and put himself between his fighting friends.

"Now, now, let's just calm down you guys." Fox and Falco looked between Slippy and each other, then turned their faces in the opposite directions with their nose and beak pointed up in the air. "Fox, we're your friends, we understand what you're going through, but there's nothing you can do about this."

Fox snickered darkly. "YOU know what I'm going through? That's a big laugh. None of you can understand what I'm going through!" Fox turned around sharply and poked his finger into Slippy's clothed chest. "Tell me this, Slip. If you were in my shoes, and that girl in there was Amanda, would you sit back and do nothing?!"

Slippy was taken aback by this perplexing question. The humanoid toad took a moment to think about Fox's question. "Well… I… um…," Slippy frowned and lowered his head to face the floor. He didn't have an answer, and even if he did, the more he thought about it, he came to the conclusion that if he were in his friend's situation, he would probably behave and act the same way. Slippy felt lucky that it wasn't him having to go through this. It still hurt him that one of his friends did have to face a problem, such as this.

Fox was sufficiently satisfied with Slippy's reaction. "Yeah, that's what I thought." Fox turned around to leave his stunned friends and get off the Solomon for a while.

Elsewhere, Light was lying down on a sofa in the game room. Setting himself aside, the room was completely empty. He had gone there to join his friends, but the game room was deserted by the time he got there. With nothing else to do, and no way of knowing where his friends went, he just plopped himself down the sofa to get some rest. He didn't fall asleep, but he did spend the better part of an hour staring at the ceiling. He was exhausted, but his mind was too preoccupied on everything he had learned that morning. One part in particular only made him angry. Allistor telling him he and Krystal weren't meant to be together. He didn't know what to think about that. He saw it in the crystal…, but then again…, what would his life have been like if he hadn't met Krystal, or if he never had that first great adventure?

Unbeknownst to Light, Lindsey had been walking around the corner when she spotted her nephew's friend, who didn't seem to be looking too well. "Light?"

The man in question repositioned his head to get a clear view of the woman. "Oh hi, Lindsey. What brings you here?"

"You, and don't give me any of that 'I'm alright' nonsense." Lindsey sat down on a red coach that was across from the same colored sofa Light occupied. "Now, what's matter?"

Light sighed, "I was just thinking about what Allistor told me. I mean, what would have happened if I had never met Krystal. What would have my life been like? And look at Fox, he was the one who was supposed to get Krystal… and not me."

"You're beginning to sound like defeatist. Now listen, Krystal chose you. Look at your life, you have two beautiful children and a wonderful wife. What are you worried about?"

Light repeated a sigh and turned his view back toward the ceiling. "…Being forgotten by my family…, I guess."

In another part of the facility, Allistor was leading Alex, Chris, and Nat to a special room in the experiments sector of P.O.U.R. He had found them in the game room and got them to follow after he promised to show them something really interesting.

"So," Nat began. "What's this special experiment thing you wanted to show us?" Allistor didn't say anything, he just kept walking until the four of them stopped at a steel door with the yellow painted words '_TOP SECRET_' across the door in a diagonal.

As soon as Chris saw those words, excitement filled him. His lips curved into a mischievous smile. "Hmm, I wonder what's behind door number one." Allistor smiled at Chris's dry humor before opening the door before them.

They walked in to find a mostly empty room. Allistor turned on the lights and three podium-like containment chambers with glass dome tops that were half their size, stood in the middle of room's grey floor. Alex stared oddly at the three machines. "And… what's this exactly?" From where they stood, they could see that the units were holding one small chunk of silver-like metal each.

"We don't really know," Allistor stated proudly. "We found these chunks of metal buried near the mural I showed you. We've studied them for almost ten years and still know almost nothing about them. They're an undiscovered mineral of some sort. These are the only three of their kind we were able to find. We did learn one thing however."

"And what's that," Nat asked. Somehow, he knew he probably should have kept his big mouth shut.

Allistor walked over to the units and opened the glass domes that surrounded the shards of metals. "We discovered that they have a reaction when it's near living beings that have been exposed to magic, of all things."

Alex squinted his eyes, "Magic? Are you joking with us?"

"No. Well, I don't think so."

"Think?"

Allistor started taking each shard out and turned to three behind him. "We've ran a few tests and got some odd results. Lindsey and I got a small reaction out of them, see?" The guys looked at the shards and saw that they looked like they were vibrating slightly and seemed to become less of a solid and more of a liquid. "This is about as much of a reaction my presence can have on them. We got some blood samples of you three, Light, and Krystal from your doctors, and tested the shards reaction to them. Krystal's DNA yielded no reaction, which we believe is because she's not a part of our reality originally. Light's DNA also got a negative, although we haven't been able to figure out why. You three's DNA, however, got some dramatically strong reactions. I think the difference in our ages is part of the reason for the different reactions between us, but I have really been able to prove a correlation for that claim yet." Allistor held out the shards to them. "Here, pick them up and let's see what happens."

Nat shook his head slightly, "I have a bad feeling about this." Taking the risk, the three of them each grabbed a shard. Nothing happened for a second, but the shards began to vibrate. They did so only slightly at first, like with Allistor, but then they started to vibrate and shake very violently. The guys had to work to just keep the shards from jumping out of their hands. The shards then liquefied in an instant and plunged themselves under the skin of Light's friends. "WHAT THE HECK!!!" The three started jumping around the place from the sudden invasion on their bodies. Allistor was worried about them at first, but couldn't help but laugh at their impromptu dance.

Soon, the weird feeling of something spreading through their bodies subsided. "What was that just now?" Chris asked as they finally stopped with their hopping.

Nat rapidly pulled off his shirt and turned to the others, "Do I look alright?! Is anything out of place?!" As soon as Light started turning around, everyone else did see something strange.

"Wait a minute Nat," Alex said. "Turn around so we can get a good look at your back."

"What, what's wrong with my back?" Sure enough, they found something weird alright. He had a something like a marking, or rather a tattoo, on his back. The marking was of a yellow bolt of lightning. Chris and Alex inspected the marking and turned to each other with astonished looks. The both of them stripped off their shirts. The both of them had a mark similar to their friends, although they were in different locations. Alex had some green line strokes along both of shoulders. From how wavy the strokes looked, they almost seemed to resemble the wind. Chris had an image of a ball of fire in the center of his chest, above his heart.

Allistor couldn't believe what he was seeing. His eyes were the size of saucers, as were the hosts of the newly formed marks. "So this is what I've waited ten years to see? Now that's interesting."

Nat put his shirt back on and looked at the people around him. "Tell me, why do these sorts of things always happen when I'm around you all?"

Before he could get an answer, the PA system started up. "Good day, everyone." It was Leonidas's voice. "I hope I didn't disturb anything important, but remember to get some well needed rest tonight. Tomorrow, we leave for the Bermuda Triangle. Thank you for listening." The PA ended and Allistor started walking out.

"You heard him gentleman, we nee d to rest up for tomorrow." He walked out with the three behind him rushed out while putting their shirts back on and asking him what they were going to do about their marks.

"I don't know unfortunately, but we'll probably have a whole new adventure to find out," He responded with an excited grin.


	13. The Road to Naught

**Author's Note****: Well, here you go. Not as fast as I wanted it to be, but I wanted to go ahead and finish one last thing before I really get started…, like FF13. I've been at it constantly, trying to get my first platinum trophy, The Ultimate Hero. This chapter was also a little difficult to figure out, but I think I managed to get the message across quite well. Be sure to R&R. Enjoy. And before I forget to mention, the next chapter will either come out this Thursday or this weekend. When it does come out, I'll give you the finalized schedule for this story arc. **

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Chapter 12

**The Road to Naught**

After spending a night to mull over everything they had learned the previous day, every person involved in this new mission was already at their stations, prepped and ready to go by the time the sun had risen. Thanks to the teamwork of Leonidas's engineers and Slippy's mechanical prowess, the Great Fox had been modified to where it could be attached to the Solomon's back-end in a dock-like manner. On board the Great Fox of course, was Peppy, as the acting leader in Fox's absence, Falco and Slippy, who was doing some last minute touch-ups to the new modifications from the inside.

Everyone else was where they should have been on the Solomon for lift off time. Krystal and Joel were taking care of the final teleportation inspections. All others were buckled in the numerous seats on the command bridge. The rest of the three hundred man crew worked like a well oiled machine to get the combined ships lifting off the port. Dawn and Dusk were seated next to each other and tried hard not to show how scared they really were as the Solomon's gravitational thrusters brought the ship into the air. Leonidas picked up on the children's fear from his observations of them.

"You don't have to worry kids, this ship is the safest place you could be at times like these." Dawn turned to her father and he nodded at her to add some comfort to Leonidas's words.

"You two'll be alright, I promise. Leonidas has helped me and your mother many times before." This put the kids more or less at ease for the time being. Light, and Fox as well, felt a feeling of nostalgia swell up inside of them. They were as afraid as the kids were, but they dared not reveal it for the sake of Dusk and Dawn.

Once the ship had steadied itself in mid-air, Leonidas looked over at Allistor and Lindsey and ordered, "Get ready to teleport."

"Yes, Commander," they both responded. While the both of them got the teleportation sequence up and running, Leonidas pulled up an image on the view screen hanging on his left.

"its Captain while on this ship, if you don't mind."

"Uh… yes, sir. Of course," Allistor responded back.

"Engine Room, are we all set and ready to go for our teleportation jump?" Krystal's face appeared on screen with Joel on her right.

"Everything is all set Captain. Our coordinates are set."

"Good. Is everything set up, Allistor?"

"Yes, sir. We're all set."

"Then commence the teleportation jump." All aboard the ship went right to work at those words. The copy of Krystal's machine started to shoot out streams of blue light in front, just as before on Cerinia. Speaking of which, the King, Queen, and Sabre were currently waiting through this jump sequence from the relative comfort of their rooms. They were also using the flat screen television in their room to watch what was happening on the bridge.

Once the satellite beams had created a perfect circle, big enough for the two combined ships to pass through, the circles inside filled in with blue swirling and flowing lights. The portal was open. Leonidas raised his voice to get everyone's attention. "Full speed ahead." The ship's bridge crew did just that. The Solomon started moving it, as well as its inter-dimensional companion, along through the portal and embraced the light it was now bathed in. As the ship passed though the jump tunnel, most of the crew inside held their breaths. None of them had ever been to the Bermuda Triangle before and, considering what most of them had probably seen during their career at P.O.U.R., they were afraid at what they might find. Soon, after only a minute of waiting, they could see the light at the end of the tunnel. Some of the crew members gulped, bracing themselves for the ship's exit. Once the Solomon passed through the tunnel's end, they all found…

…nothing.

There was nothing but ocean on all sides of them, with no visible land in sight at all directions. Everyone had breathed out and started breathing normally again. Now however, everyone was trying to figure out what they doing here in the middle of nowhere. They had all been expecting something like an island. While everyone around had confused looks about them, Leonidas didn't look surprised at all. In fact, he didn't look at all bothered, almost like he was expecting this. Alex looked through all of the outside windows to try and see anything at all, but there was nothing. "This is it?"

Nat turned to Krystal's viewing window and commented, "Good going, Princess. You took us the middle of freakin' nowhere."

"HEY!" Krystal held up a wad of computer fax paper and pointed to them with her free hand in emphasis. "Listen here, Bug! I went over these coordinates they gave me THREE times! Tell me, how have you contributed to this ship?"

"Hey, I've done plenty… that I'm not willing to divulge." Nat was talking about having a rock turn into a liquid slime and invade its way under his skin, but Krystal didn't know about that. Her face showed her doubt and he wasn't going to talk about their little accident back at the base. "And by the way, who was the idiot that gave you those bogus coordinates."

"That 'idiot' would be me," Leonidas spoke out without taking his eyes off the boundless ocean before him. Nat felt a lump build up in his throat, but was relieved to see that the man in charge wasn't really paying him much attention. "And these aren't the wrong coordinates, we're just a little early."

All eyes on the bridge, and anyone watching the bridge from a monitor, turned to the Captain in confusion. Even Allistor had no idea what his friend was talking about. His security clearance was high, but not as high as Leonidas. It wasn't entirely surprising that his friend knew something he didn't but still, he kind of wished he knew more of what to expect out of this mission.

Leonidas slipped his sleeve up a bit and eyed his gold Rolex watch. He gave it a couple of taps to make sure it's working right. Then he faced forward again to look toward Allistor. "Prepare for another jump. Set the portal point three hundred meters in front of us, and have the satellite beams aimed at a single point together."

"Um… yes, sir?" While Allistor and Lindsey got on that, Krystal's face reappeared before them.

"And the coordinates, sir?"

"None."

"NONE," the entire bridge crew exclaimed in shock.

Krystal was the one most vexed by this. "No coordinates! But that's just… what's that supposed to do? With no coordinates, we can't make a tunnel."

"There's nothing to fear, my Dear." Leonidas nodded to Allistor and Lindsey, giving them the go-ahead to continue their orders. Krystal activated the Azure-Light with the coordinates set at 'Null.' During her tests, whenever she had the machine at this setting, a plasma ring would be made like normal, but then it would dissipate without any real coordinates. The plasma beams shot out from the satellite spouts and met at a single point. As soon as the beams met, the atmosphere around the ship shifted. The few clouds that were there quickly grew in number and blackened. The ocean waves increased in size and rage. Cracks of lightning flashed as thunder roared. To fit the area's name perfectly, a triangular purplish-red vortex began to open from the beams' point. Several jaws dropped while others stared agape in awe. The same couldn't be said for Leonidas, or even Light's father for that matter. Both looked ahead calmly as Leonidas continued, "It's true that without any coordinates a tunnel can't be made. However, we don't have to make tunnel when one was already prepared for us. Now then, full speed ahead!"

Allistor shook off the shock, as well as everyone else who had witnessed the scene before them, and responded while trying to regain his bearings. "Yes, Captain." Allistor didn't get it. He wondered about how much more Leonidas knew than him. The Solomon began to trudge through the strange and fearful portal, which started rocking the ship from the inside out. The vibrations from passing through the entrance caused the crew to become sick and even worse with each passing second. Some people on board had felt noxious enough to throw up what was left of their breakfast. Once the combined ship was all the way through the entrance, the sickening vibrations stopped and everyone was able to think clearly again.

Leonidas had never experienced sea-sickness before, but he imagined that's exactly how it would feel. "Ugh… status report," he ordered.

Lindsey turned to the Captain. "Aside from a string of reports about head aches and nausea, status is green."

"Good," the Captain responded. Leonidas looked ahead of the ship and found that the Solomon was still traveling through the spiraling pathway. Dawn and Dusk, after puking their guts out onto the floor, latched onto each other for a little bit of comport and to steady themselves.

After a full five minutes had passed, with little conversation exchanged between anyone, the Captain started to feel the effects of the dancing lights in his eyes and suddenly felt weary. It was clear that this particular tunnel's exit wasn't anywhere in sight, but the ship kept moving forward with the help of the tunnel's gravitational current. That was proof enough that an exit did exist. Leonidas stood up from the captain's seat and announced, "It looks like this tunnel won't reach its end for a while. I think it'll be alright if we took a constitutional. If anyone needs me, I'll be in my quarters." He walked down the two steps of his seat and turned to Brandon. "Would you mind walking me to my quarters, Mr. Strong?"

Brandon had been sitting on one end of the twins with Light on the other and was still going over Krystal's true origins repeatedly in his mind. The momentary sickness he had to deal with interrupted his thoughts for a short while, but every time he glanced at one of the children, disbelief was still etched in his mind.

It was like his brain could accept aliens living among human beings, but not video game characters appearing in our universe. It was just something that would take him time too suggest.

"Mr. Strong," Leonidas repeated again, breaking Brandon from his thoughts. He turned his head sharply and looked toward his superior.

"Uh…, yes Captain?" Brandon unbuckled himself and got up to walk beside Leonidas to his room.

When those two left the bridge, the rest of the people on the ship started unbuckling themselves as well to go about their own business. Light got out of his seat and walked up to the twins and knelt down a little to be on eye level, with one of the ship's janitors behind them and cleaning up their vomit. "Hey, you two. How about we go fetch your mother and go explore and get a bite to eat later."

"Sorry, Daddy. Fox asked if we'd go see his ship before we left, and Mommy said she's take us," Dawn said in a bit of disappointment. Neither child been able to spend much time with their father, and they really did want to spend some time with him.

Dusk quickly thought up a solution. "Hey, Dad! Uncle Nat, Uncle Chris, and Uncle Alex are going to look at it too. Do you want to come with us?"

Light didn't have any hesitation in his thoughts. "Well, su…" Before he could finish answering the kids back, Allistor called out to him. "Can you kids hold on for a second?" The children nodded and Light walked over to Allistor. "Yes, Uncle?"

"Do you mind staying at my post while I'm on my break? I can't really take many breaks on this ship because this station is that important." Light couldn't believe his luck. This was the perfect chance to spend with his wife and kids too. Light sighed and nodded.

"Sure, but… what am I supposed to do here." Allistor pointed to the radar in front of his seat.

"I just need you to sit here and watch over this, got it? Light nodded. "Good. Oh, and sorry about the trouble."

"It's no problem, just give me a second," Light walked back over to the kids and knelt down again. "I'm sorry, guys. Uncle Allistor needs to take care of something." The two kids frowned a little and Light put a reassuring hand their shoulder. "Don't worry about me, guys. You two go find and your mother and have fun." He hugged his kids and watched them run out of the command bridge. Light walked back to Allistor and sat the man's seat.

"Did you have any other plans made?" Allistor asked.

"Well, no, not really. The kids and wanted to go see the interior of the Great Fox and Krystal's going to be chaperoning them."

"Oh, well, if you see anything on this radar or through the window here just call me or the Captain." Light said 'okay' and Allistor left him to get out of the room, but not before being swarmed by Light's three friends.

"Hey! Get BACK here!" Nat and the other two roared as they ran after Allistor. "What are we supposed to do with these marks?" Allistor quickly went from a gentle walk to a brisk run. They all left the room leaving a very confused young man.

"Marks?" Light turned around in his seat to face the vortex. Light took a quick look around him and found that everyone else who was in the room had left. He was alone. He gave a sigh and leaned back in Allistor's seat. "I feel like I'm so out of the loop," he said to himself. He was worried about Krystal and the twins. He wasn't worried about their safety, but rather of how much fun they would have with Fox. He shook his negative thoughts. "What am I thinking, there's nothing for me to be worried about. Besides, the guys will be there too. Yeah…, I'm worried about nothing," he tried to convince himself.

Elsewhere in the Captain's cabin, Brandon helped Leonidas settle into his bed. Once the Captain was comfortably in and Brandon made his way to leave, but Leonidas stopped him. "I've made a decision."

Brandon wasn't sure what he meant by that, but he responded anyway. "Decided on what, sir?"

Leonidas gave stared at the young soldier long and hard. "While onboard this Solomon, I want you to be this ship's CO." Brandon's mouth was agape. It was just… so sudden for him.

"You mean…!"

"That's right, your being promoted. From now on, you'll work under me at P.O.U.R.'s special missions division. I've already taken care of the paper work, so you don't have to worry about that."

Brandon couldn't believe what he was hearing. "I'm… honored, sir, but why me."

"I've been looking at your records, and I must say that I'm impressed with what I've seen." The Captain adjusted himself in his bed and took his eyes off Brandon. "I'm sure you'll do a fine job."

Brandon saluted in appreciation and walked out feeling high in the clouds.

Later, on the Great Fox, Light's three friends had found an amazing kinship with the Starfox team. Alex and Slippy got into a techno babble conversation, Peppy and Chris talked about the ship's navigational systems, and Nat and Falco revealed to each other how lost their own groups would be without them. Needless to say, the six of them were strikingly similar to each other. Another familiarity between them was their feelings toward two of the four individuals passing the recreational room. Krystal and Fox were walking through the halls together, watching over the two little hybrid explorers, and sharing stories of their accomplishments with each other. They were laughing together as they passed by the door… almost like they were a couple. "I don't like this," Nat said out loud once they were out of earshot.

"I here ya,'" Falco agreed.

Chris turned to Peppy and asked, "You guys have ghost memories of Krystal, right?"

Peppy crossed his arms and kept his head pointed in the doorway's direction. "Yep. Having memories of someone I've never met and being around them is a rather strange occurrence, but we're not letting any of it get to our heads."

Falco crossed his arms as well and added, "Yeah, unlike some people."

Back at the command bridge, Light had been sitting in Allistor's seat for nearly two hours. During that entire span of time, not a single person had entered the command bridge. Light just was just leaning in the adjustable seat staring into the lights and thinking about what his family could be doing. His mind was on his wife for the most part, and he let his mind wander to their first encounter. That thought always made him feel better when he felt down, even if it involved a spear end pointed at his neck.

While Light was stuck in his melancholy induced thoughts, the bridge door opened and someone had walked through and heard the little song. Light didn't take any notice of them, seeing as how he was lost in own little world. "Have you been here all this time." Light turned around and was surprised to see Sabre behind him. "Were you thinking about something?" Light turned back to face his former direction and leaned back further in the seat.

"More like a lot of something's."

"You mean Krystal, don't you."

"Well, a little more than that, but yeah, for the most part. Why did you decide to wander in here all of a sudden?"

"Well, I was actually looking for Krystal's assistant to talk with him about something, but he's gone and disappeared somewhere. So tell me, what about Krystal were you thinking about."

Light smiled slightly before answering back, "Our first encounter. The first time I met Krystal was not in person, but in a dream. In the dream we were little children, probably not much more than seven years old, and we played together in the twilight of the evening. It was like a premonition. The next morning, I woke up with her sleeping next to me. It was a dream come true. Because of her I went from a sad case to possibly… the happiest and strongest person in the world. She tore down my former self and built me up to be who I had always wanted to be. And now… it feels like everything I've become is completely unwinding itself. And… I think I'm losing her. I might even be losing my own children, and… I don't know what should do. Recently, every time I try to bring my family together in some way, something keeps butting in and I can feel us being pulled further apart from each other."

As Light shared his thoughts, Sabre's guilt continued to grow. Sabre couldn't believe that he was still in support of his parent's plan. Especially since he could no longer find any hate for Light, but feelings of sorriness for his own actions. Out of a violent need to clear some of the guilt in his conscience, Sabre pulled up another chair and sat beside Light. "You're a great guy." That caused said man to turn back to his visitor in surprise. Light's eyes were wider than they've been in a long while. "I can actually see part of the reason why my sister fell in love with you."

"Really, and what's that?"

"Well, I know that it's really hard for you to see it right now, but you are strong." Light's head tilted a little to the left in confusion. Sabre then gently tapped Light's chest. "Right there." Light grinned a little at that and went back to watching the tunnel, but feeling a little better. Light had gained Sabre's trust, or so he thought. The command bridge door opened once more and the two occupants watched as Leonidas joined them inside.

"How are you gentleman doing?" he asked as simple small talk.

"We're doing alright," Sabre answered for the both of them.

"Are you al…," Light couldn't finish asking the captain about his wellbeing because the radar in front of him started beeping like mad. He looked at it and saw that something was quickly coming up behind them. "Um… Captain, I think something is following us."

To investigate Light's claim, Leonidas sat back down and used the viewing controls on his left arm rest to bring up the footage being streamed from the ship's hind camera. All eyes were glued to the screen, fear now etched into their features. Gaining on the Solomon and Great Fox's rear… was an armada of Void. And leading the assault was a monstrosity bigger than anything they had ever seen. When Leonidas had first walked into the command bridge, he corn-cod pipe in his mouth. That pipe was now the ground, fallen from its owner's mouth. Leaonidas smashed the intercom button. "THIS IS NOT A DRILL, I REPEAT, THIS IS NOT A DRILL! ALL HANDS, BATTLESTATIONS!"


	14. Blizzards Edge

**Author's Note: Sorry for the extremely long wait, I've had a lot family things to do and room remodeling that needed to be done. I have been working on this chapter throughout that time, but in short bursts. Partly because of the things above and partly because this was a hard chapter to write. It's been a while since I've done any action lately, so I'm hoping this quenches your thirst for a chapter or two. Enjoy the chapter everyone, and remember to R&R.**

**To KryzKrn: The scene you mentioned is in the story, but in flashback form. I did think about having it in this chapter, but there really was no fitting place to put it. So, I plan on putting it in the next chapter. Oh, and want to know something I thought was both funny and sad. "Out of this World" got another review recently. It was a flame, and ****a particularly poor one at that. It was given by a newb with no stories or even a bio, and he claimed Light to be a horribly blatant "Gary Stu" when he himself didn't even know the definition of a "Gary Stu." Now I thought that was a little laughable.

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Chapter 13

**Blizzard's Edge**

Almost as if on cue, as soon as Leonidas ordered everyone to get to their battle stations, albino-white aerial Voids started blasting red energy beams, from a jewel of the same color embedded in their chests at the Solomon and Great Fox. One of them flew past the Solomon's command bridge window and those who were already there got a vision of one of the many beasties out there amongst that destructive fleet. It resembled a hybrid between a falcon's head and a pterosaur's body, but without the feathers of the former. As soon as Light saw the creature in that moment, he could have sworn that it's glowing, red eyes, an attribute shared amongst most of the Void, fell on him specifically.

On the Great Fox, Fox and Krystal had separated to get to their different stations. Fox went to go join his friends in the Arwing hanger, and Krystal hurried back to the Solomon's engine room while trying to keep her and the kids intact from the enemies' first assault. Light's friends were right behind Krystal as well and were keeping watch over her and the children until they were surely safe.

Fox and his trio of pilot friends ran as fast as they could to get to their fighter crafts. The entrance to the hanger opened and there they were. The four most famous star fighter's in the Lylat system. Their sharp, triangular design struck fear into the hearts of their enemies. Ready and waiting for the fight ahead, Fox and the gang hopped into their ships, although Slippy hopped in a little clumsily. Whilst Falco briefly complained about how clumsy his little green friend was, Fox quickly checked his fighter's G-Diffuser system. Thankfully, It looked like Slippy had prepared the hyper lasers in preparation for an emergency like this. Once Rob gave them the green light to go, all four members launched themselves out of the hanger and into the fray with the enemy.

While Starfox went into the battlefield, the Solomon's turrets controls were filled by one gunner after another, and many of whom had been itching for some action.

From what any of the gunners could tell, there seemed to have been well over several thousand of the soaring beasties, not to mention that they were afraid of what the titanic general of the armada could do. It was easily five times the size of the Solomon, and resembled a black box with a pointed side on its front end. The titan wasn't doing anything currently, but the gunners were making sure to keep a close eye on it. With superb coordination, three aerial voids swooped down, blasting the top of the Solomon's outer shell. The ships shield absorbed most of the blasts but, given enough time, the damage would accumulate. After the three let loose their beam attacks, the middle void was struck down from a turret gunner. At the very least, the gunners knew that their weapons were effective against them.

Leonidas pressed down on the intercom to get Allistor's attention in the beam barrage. "Allistor, are you there? We need you on the command bridge, now!" He didn't have to wait long for an answer.

Allistor's voice vibrated through the speaker, "Sorry, Captain, but the hall to the bridge is blocked by debris from the last attack. Lindsey and a few of the others are with me, but it'll take us some time to clear enough of it out of the way."

Leonidas released the pressure his finger had on the button and called the engine room. "Krystal, can you read me?"

The engine room viewing screen popped up and Krystal appeared. "Yes, Captain. Loud and clear."

"Good, now listen closely, I want you to have the engine's main thrusters shut off and build up the pressure to one hundred and twenty percent."

Krystal thought she was momentarily deaf and asked, "one hundred and twenty percent, really!" The Captain nodded and she responded, "But that's crazy, the engines will overheat and might even explode."

"That's exactly what I'm counting on!" Krystal's reluctant face disappeared from the screen and Leonidas got out of his seat walked up to one of the bridge seats and sat down at the controls.

Light and Sabre had watched the exchange and the man asked, "What's building up the engine pressure going to do."

Without looking at who was asking him, Leonidas replied back, "Seeing as we three are the only ones here, there's not much we can do to fight them. Only Lindsey, Allistor, and several others have the keys to the Solomon's main cannons. I also have a key to one of the cannons as well, but just me and a few turrets alone won't help us. What we need right now is a fast getaway out of this tunnel. With any luck, we'll be able to do that and put a decent size dent into their forces." Now Light knew what was going on here.

Light stood up and asked, "Is there anything you need me to do, sir?" Light was determined to do just about anything he could do to help and be useful.

"There is, see those joy sticks over there." Light saw the mentioned station and nodded. "I need you manually steer the ship. Don't worry, just flip the manual control switch and treat the joy sticks like a video game. And remember, since we don't have the thrusters, you'll have to ride the tunnel's current. Be careful to dodge as much of the enemy fire as possible, and make sure you don't collide with the tunnel's edge. There's no way tell what could happen." The Captain was essentially putting their lives into Light's hands. With Sabre not knowing how to use the joy sticks, Light didn't really have a choice at all. He sat down at his newly appointed station and did as he was ordered while taking a deep breath.

Outside the ship, the battle raged. Not only were the aerial Voids tough, they were intelligent. The bulk of them had concentrated their energy barrages at the offending gunner turrets while a small group of thirty wrestled it out with the Starfox team.

Fox was pulling through this fight just as well as his comrades. Fox himself had three bogies on him. That still didn't stop him from boosting to Slippy's rescue and blasting down the two chasing him.

"Thanks, Fox."

"No problem, Slip." Fox's left wing got hit while he was momentarily distracted with his friend. "Alright, I can promise you that that'll be the last hit you get on me." The three behind him fired their beams at him again. He countered the beams by barrel-rolling and deflecting the blasts back at his pursuers. Two of them dodged their deflected attacks, but the one that hit Fox was brought down by it's own shot. Fox pulled his Arwing's brakes and the two that was left flew right past him, only to be shot down with laser fire. "Yes, that's three down!"

Falco's ship then flew to be beside Fox's. "And only a THOUSAND more to go!" cried out Falco's sarcastic voice through the communicator.

Peppy swooped down to the other side of Fox and added, "Falco's right, we can't fight all of them."

Although he was reluctant to agree, Fox had to admit that his friends were right. "I know, but we have to keep as many of them distracted as possible for the Solomon's crew to figure out a way to get us out of here."

Slippy flew up above Fox and the crew. "Um, guys. I'm beginning to pick up some weird readings from that giant Void." Sure enough, Slippy was right. The giant black Void began to open up in three divided sections from the tip. Once it was fully open, they saw in the center of the opened beast… was a giant red eye. Starfox wasn't the only ones to witness this new development. Aside from Light's parents, the King and Queen, and the twins, who were in a safe room and being forced wait out this emergency, everyone on the Solomon saw it happen before their very eyes. Fear of what this monstrosity might bring struck them all. They knew that they didn't have much time left before something terrible could happen.

Fox and his team pealed their eyes away long enough to see that the aerial Voids closest to the giant beast started flying fast toward the Solomon, and they were carrying a new surprise of theirs. Held between each of the aerial Voids' talons were gargoyle-like entities with curved axe-like blades jutting out of their forearms. These new stone-grey foot soldiers were being dropped down onto the Solomon's roof bed and started to use their powerful steel tip claws to dig through the ship's armor to gain entry. What turrets there were left quickly changed targets to these new foes and keep as many from getting in as possible. Starfox went to aid them and blasted as many as possible, but several broke through their defenses. Fox and the team started hoping and wishing that someone will be able to stop the invaders things started looking bleak.

Inside the ship's halls, the Void soldiers started erupting out from the hall's ceilings and tearing anyone unlucky enough to be found by them unarmed limb from limb. Solomon guards put up barricades in the blood stained halls and attacked from behind them with phaser weapons developed at Area 51. The creatures' skin was tough, like the serpent Void from before but, after taking in a numerous amount of shots, they either started to fall down dead or went into a blood thirsty rage and started severing the heads of those behind the barricades.

Other than the safety shelter and the engine room, both of which sporting extra thick titanium walls on all sides for added protection, every part of the ship was a battle zone. And unfortunately for Joel, he ended up getting locked out of the engine room before he could reach it in time. He had to carefully maneuver through halls that had already been cleared and avoided the ones where the battle still raged. Joel soon came upon the command bridge hall, but he found it to be blocked by debris with people and soldiers gathered to clean the path. Allistor turned to see Krystal's assistant enter the hall and called out. "Joel! What are you doing here?"

"I got locked out of the engine room! I thought the bridge would be the next safest choice."

"You'd be right if it wasn't for all of this junk. Do you think you can help us move this debris?" Joel nodded and started the others to clear the path. Little time passed after they got back to work when a Void found them and started heading in their direction. The crew members there spotted the gargoyle and started digging through the broken steel, plastic, and disheveled wires faster and more frantically. With all of the pushing and shoving, Joel didn't notice an elbow come flying at him.

The unexpected force sent him flying through the air and he hit the ground hard, on his shoulder. As soon as he hit the floor, a crimson gem shard fell out of his lab coat pocket. "No," cried Joel. He scrambled for the small jewel and snatched it off the ground. Before he knew it, the gargoyle was right in front of him.

Behind the Void, Light's friends crossed into the hall and saw that Joel was in deep trouble. Nat and the others didn't waste their time and started sprinted to the rescue. "Don't worry Joel, we gotcha.'" They ran down the hall as fast as they could, and they felt something. It was like a tingling sensation at first, but then the feeling seemed to spread like a weird burning sensation. It wasn't painful though, just weird. The three felt a new and familiar strength course through their beings.

The hall lit up, causing the gargoyle to react with a howl from the blindingly offensive light. It turned toward the blinding display and barely was able to see a blazing-red armored fist slam into the temple of it's skull. The punch stunned it long enough to allow an electric-yellow armored leg to round house kick it in the direction of the corridor they came from. While it was staggered, a concentrated blast of wind hurled the beast through the corridor and slammed it into the wall at the corridor's end, killing it from head trauma.

The blinding light soon subsided, and Allistor was finally able to see what had happened to their attacker. What had stolen his attention were the three armor clad individuals before him. Alex, Chris, and Nat stood before them, and in the same suits of armor as before in the Knossos ruins. Alex in his grey plated armor that had wing like furls protruding out from the back of his legs and arms, adding more agility for aerial manuevers. Chris in a bulky red suit of armor for the purpose of being a tank against enemies, as was his style in gaming. And Nat in the thin yellow armor that provided him great speed and more dexterity for quick frontal assaults. Each of these armors just about covered their bodies entirely. Was this what those shards were supposed to do? Allistor knew that the shards reaction to most of those exposed to the magic of the ruins meant something spectacular, but he honestly hadn't expected these results. Perhaps the restoration of some of their powers from ten years before, but not this. Others who saw this transformation was even more confused by this sudden turn of events, but decided not to think too much of it seeing as how they were still alive.

Nat and the guys just looked at each other in wonderment. Nat and Alex were the first ones to express what the three of them were thinking. They gave each other metal clanking high fives while exclaiming, "YES!"

"Were back," Nat yelled as he pumped his fist into the air.

"And we're better than ever," Alex added.

Chris looked down and saw Joel on the ground staring at them with wide eyes. Chris thought he could see great fear in the young man's eyes, but shook his thoughts clear of the idea and thought it was simply shock at what he was seeing. That would make more sense, although a little fear was understandable.

Joel was still on the ground, so Chris took the young assistant's hand, who hesitantly took it like he was afraid to get burned, and pulled him up to his feet. "You okay, kid?" Joel silently nodded. Alex, Chris, and Nat then went to help Allistor clean up all of the debris.

Joel kept staring at them as everyone in front of him worked with no gratitude in his eyes and a grim frown on his face. "So it's happened again. No matter, it shouldn't change anything," Joel whispered to himself and went off to disappear until the action died down.

On the other side of the debris, Light was handling the ship's manual controls well enough for his first time. He would sometimes jerk the controls on accident due to how nervous he was getting. Sabre was at Light's side encouraging him to just do his best. The Captain was at one of the main cannon's controls and was cluster blasting the enemy aerials every minute he could. The giant Void wasn't an immediate threat at the moment, but he kept an experienced eye on it. Light didn't know how much longer they had to wait, but he was hoping they would be ready at any minute. Then they heard something… up above them. They all stood and watched as a gargoyle burst through the ceiling and set its sight on Light. It ran at him with blinding speed and Light's bodily functions froze in fear. He closed his eyes expecting a blade to be embedded in his chest. It didn't come. Light peeked up with one eye and saw the creature's blade locked in a stalemate with Sabre and his staff.

Both were pushing at each other and trying to gain the upper hand over the other. Sabre addressed Light without breaking eye contact with the gargoyle. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah."

"Good," Sabre pushed hard and forced the creature to stumble backwards a couple of steps. "You just keep flying the ship, and just leave this thing to me." Sabre rushed forward and made contact with his staff against the monster's axe blade again. He muscled its arm above its head and swung the end of his staff into the bottom of the creature's jaw. The gargoyle regained its footing and used its other arm blade to make a sideways swipe at Sabre. The vulpine prince jumped high in the air to dodge the blade and came back down like lighting, plunging the spear head into the back of the gargoyles spine, severing the brain's connection.

While Sabre had his dance of death with the beast behind him, Krystal's image appeared on the viewing screen. "The power has reached one hundred and twenty percent, sir! Whatever it is you plan on doing, I suggest you do it QUICK!" Leonidas nodded and turned to Light.

"Light, listen to me. Do you see a green button on the right of the controls?" Light took a moment to explore the control panel with his eyes until he found what he was looking for. Light turned back and nodded. "Alright, I want you to slow down the ship until that cluster of beasties are at our heels. And then, when I give the signal, push it."

"Got it," Light responded back with a new display of confidence.

While he did that, Leonidas was patching a signal through to the Starfox team to make dock with the Great Fox, post haste. He looked at the monitor and saw that they apparently got the message and were racing toward their Arwing hanger. Once they were inside, and Light had the ship in position, Leonidas gave the signal. "NOW!" Light pressed the button and the engine's thrusters blasted like an erupting super volcano, scorching well over half of the Void creatures in the armada and launching the ship forward through the tunnel like a bullet. They had escaped and, more than that, they had finally found the exit.

All three on the bridge took a moment to breathe in a sigh of relief. They lost the Void and were safe… for the moment. After taking their little reprieve, they finally took notice of the world outside and stared into it. It was a world of ice and snow. They had come upon a seemingly endless blizzard when they exited the tunnel. The sky was covered by weaving black clouds, but it was light out instead of dark. It was darker behind them than it was in front, so there had to be a light source straight ahead.

Their attention was diverted when the bridge door opened. Brandon rushed in first and asked, "Is everybody okay in here?" Everyone behind him started pouring through the door to check up on the three as well. Nat, Alex, and Chris walked in with everyone else, still locked in their transformed states.

Sabre pointed his thumb toward the dead Void in the back while saying nonchalantly, "Were fine, and how are you guys…," Sabre then saw the three armored warriors behind them. "…What are those?"

Light looked over at the three multi-colored armor bearers and exclaimed with cheerful enthusiasm. "Guys! Is that really you, you know, like before?" Light was referring to the time when they had first taken those forms.

"You've got that right, Bulby." It was clearly them. No one ever referred to him with such nicknames other than them. Or Nat to be more specific.

"But… how did this happen?" Light was speechless for the most part, as were most of the people who first saw them transform.

Alex held up his hand. "I'd rather not talk about it right now. It's a long and painful story." As soon as that sentence ended, the forms faded away and they checked each other out again to see if it was completely dispelled.

When they were sure it was completely gone, Nat turned to Light. "Not to mention weird." The bridge door opened again and in walked Krystal, the twins, and Krystal and Light's parents.' The twins immediately perked up and ran into their father's arms.

"Daddy!" Dawn gripped her father's pants hard. "We were so scared!" Light pulled them into the hug more.

"Don't worry, I'm here. I would never let anything happen to you two." Krystal then shook her head.

"No, that's not it. They were worried about you." Light was touched. Suddenly, he wondered why he was worried anymore. His family hadn't forgotten him. Light had forgotten what it was he was worried about. The bridge door opened once more and Fox entered. Dusk turned to see Fox come in the room, only to have Marcus take over his body abruptly. Marcus let go of Light's leg and went to cling to Fox.

"Father! Did you beat the bad guys? How many did you beat up?" Light remembered now why he was worried. No matter how many times anyone saw this scene, it was always shocking. It was also heart wrenching for Light to see his child think of another as their father, even if Fox probably was Marcus's father in those ghost memories. Dusk retook his body and let go of Fox and stepped away slowly. With all of the room's eyes on him, he felt like a freak.

"I'd like to be excused now," he whispered with his head down, hoping his azure hair would cover his ashamed face.

Krystal didn't know what to do or say in this kind of situation. She looked over at Lindsey and asked, "Would you mind taking him to our room?" Lindsey shook her head and walked out of the room with Dusk. When they were gone, Krystal whispered to her self, "Poor Dusk." Dusk had been struggling with Marcus more and more lately.

The room was silent. No one knew what could be said right now, but Allistor tried to move away from what just happened and turned to the outside world. "What in the world…, what is this place?" All eyes turned to the viewing window and looked out at the dark and icy world they had come out to. All of the bridge bunnies got back in their seats, as did the Captain, to get a better grasp of where they were. Everyone else got into their seat except Brandon who wanted to stand since he was the Solomon's active CO.

Brandon turned to the one of the bridge bunnies on the farthest left and asked, "Status report?"

The bridge bunny checked for the status of where they were and the ship's stats. "The ship checks out alright. There is only some minor damage to the ship and it looks like the shields held up fine against the enemy fire. As for where we are, I don't know. These atmospheric readings are different than Earth's, but also similar. They aren't exactly like the Earth's, but it seems… cleaner, I guess I should say."

The Captain then spoke to the same bridge bunny on something more important to him, "And what about the crew."

She didn't know how she should say this, but she said it anyways. "I'm sorry say that we lost over a quarter of our crew members in the ambush." The Captain nodded, but with a heavy heart. Every crew member's life was important to Leonidas. He was sorry for their deaths, but he was also proud of them for their service in the face of such danger.

Leonidas then pointed outward to where the light on this world was coming from. "That way is our destination. That is the closest light source to us, and where we may find some answers, and hopefully a solution to our situation." The bridge bunny nodded and began charting the course.

The combined ship flew in the dark sky quietly. All the while, the ship's temperature kept dropping from the ongoing blizzard. It soon got cold enough to where they had to bring out the emergency heating blanket to keep everyone warm. The ship's cook even sent some people to give every crew member a mug of hot cocoa.

Allistor soon picked up something on his radar and looked down on the world's surface and discovered some metal sticking out of the snow. "Captain, I found something on the surface." Allistor zoomed in on the icy ruins and asked wide eyed, "Captain, is that…?"

"…Flight 19, yes, I believe so."

"But, how did they get here without going through the tunnel." All eyes turned to the captain to explain.

"They did go through the tunnel. The Bermuda Triangle's door is always opening and closing in random intervals. We merely forced it to open." Everyone turned back to the viewing window to watch the debris of the lost flight team pass them by.

Not too long after, the blizzard began to subside… a little too fast. Within a moment, the storm had ended and an abundance of light in front of them poured through the dark. The temperature rose rapidly until it was nice and warm. They soon came upon the edge of this icy world.

The Solomon passed the snow capped cliffs and dark clouds to a world that was the exact opposite. The sky was clear of any clouds and there was a bright, blue, and beautiful ocean below. In the center of it all was a large island in the middle of the shining waves. This was strange as there was no sun or star to be found. And on this breathtaking island was an equally amazing city of gold, marble, and stone. It seemed ancient, bit it shined nothing any one of them had ever seen. The Captain marveled at the overall magnificence. "Everyone, welcome to lost city of Atlantis."


	15. The Paradise Time Forgot

**Author's Note****: It was a long time coming, but I think you guys have been left in the dark long enough. It is explanation time today. I'm combining two different legends together to make something fairly original so I hope you like it, and if you don't, then tell me what you would have liked to see what I could have done differently. I probably would have updated a few days ago, but this past week was E3 week and I'm extremely excited about all of new games coming out (Especially for the new 3DS, since it does not require the use of glasses). Now that this chapter is finished, my SNES is set up after a long time of being dormant, and so while you guys read this, I'm going to go back and play the original Satrfox game (Not Starfox 64 for the ones who don't know, but the original). Goodbye for now and remember to READ & REVIEW! It makes me happy.**

**To KryzKrn****: If you remember a while back, you said there was a missing scene with Fox and Krystal. That was true, but it wasn't really missing. I just didn't want to concentrate on them yet so I had the scene storage until I found a place I preferred for it to be in. This is that chapter. **

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**Chapter 14**

**The Paradise Time Forgot**

As the Solomon hovered above the island below, Krystal looked down on it in contemplation. It reminded her of that place in her ghost memories. The Kazoa ruins, if she remembered correctly. Beautiful, but baron. From what they could see of the city, there was no one down there. Although that was what everyone else was concentrating on, Krystal had been having trouble thinking or concentrating on anything since her conversation with Fox before the Void ambushed them.

_The two of them had been walking through the Great Fox's halls while Fox humorously told them stories of his heroics, while the twins ran around and played through the halls. She had been wishing that Light was there with them when Fox stopped walking suddenly and slowly turned his head to her. He had a serious and sad look in his eyes. "Tell me, have you ever wondered about what… might have been?"_

_Krystal looked into his eyes and couldn't help feeling sorry for the guy. After everything that's happened, she didn't really blame him for being upset. Being all alone one day, and finding out that you had a wife and child in another life must have been a flooring experience for him. She turned her eyes away to look as far away from him as possible and answered, "… Yes, a little." It was true. With all of the ghost memories in her head trying to overlap with her real ones, she had been having increasingly more trouble with her train of thought. Early on, every time a ghost memory of hers made itself known, she had to reason it out by thinking of her husband and kids. Lately for her, that had been harder to do because each time she tried to reason it out now, Light's face kept getting replaced by Fox's._

_Fox turned his whole body toward her and grabbed her hands asking, "Then please, tell me this. If you had never come to this universe in the first place, and met me like we had in those memories, would you have picked me?" Krystal's eyes widened as she was speechless. She tried to think of an appropriate answer, but couldn't find one. Her mind went blank as she tried to come up with something to say to Fox. Before anything more could be said, the intercom boomed with voice of the Solomon's captain, screaming for everyone to get to their battle stations. She instantly tore herself away from Fox's query and looked back at him all business-like._

"_I've got to go." Krystal looked down the long hall and saw the kids who, before the sudden announcement, were laughing, playing, and staring in awe at one of the Great Fox's cooling vents while the grown ups were a long ways down the hall and started acting funny. "Kids! We've got to go, quick." The baffled children did as they were told and each grabbed one of their mother's hands and her eyes met Fox's. "We'll see you later." And she ran, not able to think very well, and went to get the children to safety from whatever danger they had found themselves in._

_When Krystal was gone, Fox thought to himself for a brief moment on the eye contact they had shared. He saw uncertainty in her eyes. That filled him with hope and confidence. He erected his posture, cracked his knuckles, and went to assemble his team._

Ever since the Void attack was evaded, Krystal had only been thinking of that one question. If she had never met Light, would she have chosen Fox over anyone else? This one question was eating her from the inside out. As she silently struggled to come up with an answer to this matter, the Solomon's crew helped the ship descend and land on an open area of the Atlantis ruins, and in front of what looked like the palace's entrance.

When the ship had landed, Leonidas stood up from his seat. "Attention, everybody." All eyes turned to him. "With our ship's forces weakened as it is, I need to ask for a small amount of volunteers to follow me outside. So, who's with me?" With little hesitation, Light, Allistor, Lindsey, Brandon, Fox, and Krystal raised their hands. The Captain nodded as he expected as much.

Sabre, who was standing next to his parents at the time, saw Krystal and her husband raise their hands and lifted his up to join them. The Captain turned to him and the vulpine prince stated, "If my sister is going, you can count me in as well."

On the other side of the room and standing next to Krystal, Nat muttered under his breath, "Yeah, you go right along. I'm not." A furry blue elbow was then promptly jabbed into his gut. Nat grabbed his aching stomach and spoke while gasping through the pain. "On second thought…, some fresh air would be nice." Chris and Alex's hands went up from there, joining Nat's trembling appendage in the air.

The command bridge door opened and Krystal's dark haired assistant walked in and raised his hand as well. He grinned with his eyes closed and said, "I think I'll come along as well."

"Are you sure about that Joel? It may be dangerous." Krystal was worried about him coming along. If they ran into anything threatening, he was the only one of them with no combat experience.

Joel gave Krystal the same smile he gave Leonidas. "No need the worry about me. I can assure you that if anything happens, I can surely hold my own." Krystal was curious about that statement, but nodded her 'OK' to him. She couldn't force him to not go, but she didn't feel very secure for his sake.

Leonidas looked over the rest of the room and turned back to the volunteers. "Well, if that's everyone, I'd like to get on with this exploration."

As the team began filing out of the bridge, Krystal brought Dawn over to hers and Light's parents. Dawn took her grandmother Sarah's hand and Krystal bid them goodbye as they said they would watched over the kids.

Once they all had stepped off the Solomon's entrance ramp, the team met up with the other three members of Starfox. With the whole assembly together, they surveyed the surrounding area. There were marble ruins all around them. Some parts of the ruins were crumbling and others were covered with overgrowth. Out in front of the Solomon was a circular symbol etched into the rock with five little niches in five points along the circle. In the circle's center was etched a triangle embedded in a square with a similar niche as the rest. Other than the circle, was a towering wall with the exact same symbol as the one on the ground, except this one did not have any slots? Then they turned to the entrance of the palace. The opening had a mote of flowing water in the center and seemed to run deep inside the ruins.

Leonidas raised his hand and motioned for everyone with him to follow close behind. As the group walked along the path marked by the mote, the palace began to look less and less like ruins, and more like the grand castle it was supposed to resemble. It was amazing, but the empty corridors gave all of them except Sabre, Leonidas, and Joel the chills. Pertaining to Sabre and Leonidas, Krystal wasn't all that surprised that they weren't afraid. Joel, however, looked around like he was analyzing every bit of the palace as he could. It was probably so he could come up with possible escape roots in case something deadly popped out at them. She thought that was a suitable reason.

The team soon found the end of the corridor and walked through the entrance way. What met them was a large throne room. On both sides of the throne were two small and shallow step-in pools of water. A long and majestic violet curtain rose up from the ground to the ceilings above the pools, giving the atmosphere around them a stunning contrast. The mote of water that the party had been following ran down the middle of the room, up to and around the throne steps. And sitting on that throne, which was made of the highest quality of gold and decorated with some of the most brilliant of gems, was an even more gorgeous woman. Her platinum blonde hair fell down to her waist and curled at the ends. Her indigo eyes and ruby lips complimented the throne's beauty with her own. A long sky-blue robe covered her perfect figure, and adorning her head was a crystal crown with encrusted sapphires on each of its three spikes.

The woman began to rise from her throne and all present before her fell silent. "Welcome to my palace, weary travelers." Just like everything else around and about her, her voice was mesmerizing.

Out of all of them, Leonidas stepped out in front of the others and approached the palace's apparent ruler. The Captain bowed to her on his left knee and looked up at her. "It is an honor to meet you. My name is Leonidas and I am the captain of this crew. Would you mind if I asked for your name?" The woman sat back down in her seat and addressed the Captain.

"Although I'm afraid my birth name has been lost throughout the ages, your kind has given me many names." Now this was beginning to sound interesting. "Of all the names I've been given, I have adopted the name Morganna."

"Morganna?"

"Yes, or as I am more commonly called by some of your legends, The Lady of the Lake." Many eyes widened at that announcement.

Allistor was the first to vocalize a response. "The Lady of the Lake? You mean you're THAT Morganna?"

Morganna giggled slightly at his expression of shock and awe. "I am, Allistor."

Allistor's jaw dropped, "And you know my name too?"

She was clearly amused by his reaction. "Yes, I do. In fact, I know all of you by name." Morganna rose up her hand and a large floating sphere materialized above her palm. "For ten thousand years, I have watched and observed your world. As you can see, with my kingdom dead, and with me being the last living Atlantian left, I found that I could dispel some of the loneliness of my world by watching yours through this crystal sphere."

Leonidas stood up and asked, "Morganna, how did your kingdom die out?"

Morganna's expression changed from a smile to a sad frown. "I'm afraid that is reason as to why I've brought you all here in the first place."

"YOU brought us," Alex scoffed.

Morganna only nodded. "Indirectly. I was the one who spread the bread crumbs on your path." Lindsey started rubbing her chin at this.

"Bread crumbs?" Then it hit her. "The mural at the Konossos ruins! And the writing samples found in the Bermuda Triangle too."

Morganna nodded. "I was the one who made that mural, and it was my people who built the pathway that brought you all here. It is a malfunctioning and erratic device though, opening and closing at its own whim. You've all seen the sun in the sky, correct?" They showed that they had seen it and she continued. "That is the sun of your world, but in this world it is frozen in the same position forevermore. Back, before that awful day, my people had power the likes of which few had ever seen or dreamed of. I too had such power, although small in comparison to my age but, because this world is outside time's grasp, my powers are limited and no longer regenerate. Whenever I use my power anymore, a little bit of it is permanently lost. A decade ago I used a bit of my power to transport that mural and placed it where it was within your reach. Although I had hoped the day would never come that I would have to summon anyone here, but I stumbled upon a certain sign." After finishing her sentence, she turned quiet for a long moment.

Light eyed her inquisitively. "What kind of sign?"

She held up her crystal sphere again and showed it to them. "As I stated before, with this orb I've watched the events of your world unfold. However, about thirty years ago, I tried looking into my sphere one morning only to discover I could not see anything. This persisted over the course of a full year and, just as mysteriously as it happened, I was able to see what was going on in the world again. My crystal sphere showed me a portion of a town and in that image was a young woman carrying a small babe. Almost a decade later, this phenomenon happened again, but the effect lasted for only a month. After the second time, I looked through my sphere and saw a young child that looked to have been beaten and was crying silently." Morganna paused for a moment as she cringed at the thought of a child having such pain forced upon them for whatever reason that it happened.

"And finally, it happened one last time, but for only a few days. What greeted my sight next in the sphere… were you two." Morganna had pointed at Light and Krystal. "You, my dear, are something I never would have, in my wildest dreams, think could possibly exist, but here you are, and with others like you." Morganna then turned her attention to Light. "And you, I watched as you fought bravely against a being that threatened to destroy everything that you held dear. Even when you knew you didn't stand a chance in the face of the dark warrior, you still fought on, wanting nothing more than to protect the woman you fell in love with. Then you were joined by your friends who came to aid you in your time of need. I knew then that you were the ones who might be able to succeed where my people failed." Light, Krystal, and the gang felt humbled at her kind words. To gain the interest of the Lady of the Lake was an incredible thing in of itself.

Without warning, Morganna stood and started to descend the throne's steps. She walked past all members of party and said, "Follow me." She started walking away with the people behind her hesitating for a moment before following suit.

As Morganna navigated through the ruined halls, she continued to tell them what they needed to know. "The terror your facing right know is the same evil that destroyed our world." On that note, every person that followed her had their undivided attention pointed at the one leading them through the castle corridors. "Even though I may not remember my name, I still remember that dark day like an ever present scar. It started out as a normal day. The sun shined brightly, the waters of the lakes and rivers flowed with serene grace, and the sound of the gentle wind could have been heard through the swaying meadows of the rolling hills. I was but a child then. I happily played amongst the other children of the city, laughing all the while… until IT happened. The clear blue sky around the city turned black under the blanket of dark clouds. The heavens began to break in blood red shards, revealing the violet eyes that hungered for our demise. From that day onward, we called that dark being Malxifel. The sky burst open and a winged creature of darkness descended upon us from its master's side. He proclaimed himself to be the Emissary of the Dark One."

"An emissary?" Joel tilted his head at her statement as they came to a downward winding staircase.

"Yes. Malxifel never once breached the divide between that separated our worlds, but instead sent his Emissary to do his bidding."

This sounded important like an important piece of the puzzle. Sabre asked before anyone else, "Why do you think this being wouldn't cross over?"

"It wasn't a matter of 'wouldn't', but rather it 'couldn't.' As the crisis dragged out, we came to the realization that the entity wasn't able to enter our world, but what we couldn't figure out was why he was able to unleash his minions upon us. Our guess was that was the reason for the Emissary's existence. It is speculated that the Emissary was sent to find a way that could allow Malxifel to pass through, although I could not begin to say how it could accomplish its goal or with what. However, we weren't about to let that happen. Overtime, in our constant warring with the Emissary, we discovered that Malxifel and its Emissary were linked. Every time we were able to find a way to deal some harm to the Emissary, even if the damage was insignificant, the size of Malxifel's vortex in the sky would slightly decrease and fewer monsters could crossover."

The group stepped off the staircase and walked down the hall and through the entrance to a large stone room, lit by the blue flames of torches attached to the walls. The room was empty, with the exception of five black marble pedestals set in a straight line and five grey keys floating individually above each pedestal. Morganna walked up the pedestals and turned toward everyone behind her.

"And so we came up with a plan that could destroy and sever the connection between them and created two weapons. One that could sever the link and another that could potentially destroy Malxifel's Emissary. When their power is combined, we believed that combined power could be strong enough to fell even Malxifel himself." Morganna turned around and collected each key and cradled them in her arms. "Let us go outside." She walked past them and stayed quiet until they had all gathered outside the entrance of the palace with the Solomon still parked where they left it.

Morganna frowned at the sight of the circular drawing etched in the marble floor. Without turning to them, Morganna continued. "It was here that we made our last stand against the Emissary and his legion of demons… and it was here… in the center of this magical lock…" Peppy almost thought his long ears were deceiving him, but he could faintly make out sobbing coming from Morganna's direction. "…that I helplessly watched my brother die." The warm atmosphere around them was quickly offset by the blue mood which embraced them. After a short while, the sobbing stopped and Morganna turned back to them to ask a question, with a little trace of her tears on her cheeks. "When I revealed to you my identity as the Lady of the Lake, what came to your minds?"

Allistor replied first, "The mystical woman from Arthurian legend. She appeared before the wizard Merlin and gave him the magical sword, Excalibur, to be stuck in a stone until a worthy king of England comes to take it." Morgonna nodded. She started to take the five keys and inserted them inside the niches at the circle's edge.

"Even though I've never really been able to leave this realm, I have used a bit of my power to make a reflection of my self and meet such a wizard. We grew to be friends, but one day he asked me to give him something to help with a dire situation of his."

"What did he ask for," Fox asked. Fox and his friends were naturally curious about this whole thing since this was their first time hearing any of this after all.

Without answering, Morganna rose up her hand and her crystal sphere appeared once more. She walked up to them and raised the sphere in front of them one by one. She started with Light's friends and waved the sphere between them. The sphere began to glow beautifully, showcasing a bright, but different color when she moved the spear from each one to the next. Nat's glowed yellow, Alex's was green, and Chris's was red. Morgonna took a closer look at the crystal and looked up with a surprised smile. "I see you've absorbed a few of our clout raiment's."

"Do you mean those shards that went inside our bodies?" Chris asked, hoping she understood what he was talking about. Moganna nodded and seemed to have understood him.

"The clout raiment's are magical armors that melded with our most magically gifted warriors. They are the main reason for why we were able to war for so long against Malxifel's forces. You three must be especially gifted to be able to don our weapons and armor." Morganna stepped aside and pointed toward the circular symbol. "Would you mind stepping onto those smaller circles on the edges?"

The three reluctantly agreed and stepped into three of the five smaller circles near their respective keys. But Nat was being extremely wary of what they were doing. First, it was those 'clout' things invading the sanctity of his body, and now he and the others were being forcibly volunteered to step into a circle that may or may not do something he might not like. Sometimes, he felt like his whole life was just one big mad science experiment after another… with him as the experimentee.

Morganna then moved on to others like Leonidas, Allistor, Lindsey, and Brandon, but only shook her head. "There is a little bit of power coming from two of you, but it's too aged." Allistor and Lindsey blinked their eyes in unison. Did she just call them… old? Regardless, she moved on to Krystal and her brother.

She examined Sabre first and saw that he did have some decent magical ability, but it still wasn't strong enough. She turned her attention to Krystal next and did the same. The sphere shined an awesome indigo color and she nodded. "I can see you have the greatest magic potential here. If you will." She stepped aside and allowed Krystal to walk past her. Then she went over to the next person in line.

Joel saw Morganna coming and bit his lip slightly and started to concentrate on something stiffly. When Morganna came around, she noticed that Joel was acting a little stiff compared to when she saw him last. She examined him but didn't detect anything and moved on. Joel watched her leave and smiled a little darkly with his wild hair covering his face.

Morganna then came to Light and was afraid that she might not be able to gather enough magical energy to do what needed to be done. She had faith in Light though. She did not know what kind of creature he faced, but she saw unimaginable power in that battle. Light erected his posture and let Morganna examine him with her sphere. As soon as the sphere came within a foot of Light, however, she felt something sinister… and familiar invade her mind. She briefly saw the flash of violet eyes in her mind. She immediately pulled away and eyed Light warily. Everyone around her gave her a strange look. "I-I'm sorry. But… I'm not getting anything from you." Light squinted his eyes at her. She was hiding something. That much was clear, but for what reason would she have had to lie to him. The others suspected something was up as well, but Krystal had to wonder. Was there something wrong with Light?

As Morganna stepped away, she thought to herself, 'I can't let him step into the circle; his energy will taint the whole process. He looks innocent enough, but I'll have to keep a careful watch on him.' She then walked up to Fox hoping to have better luck with him. She truck gold. Her sphere radiated a deep orange color and she turned to him with a large smile. "It has a strange feeling to it, but I sense great power within you. Please, step into the circle." Fox was surprised to say the least. He hadn't in the least expected Morganna to choose him, although he did take her offer eagerly. Fox stepped in the only open circle in between Krystal and Chris.

Everyone else watched with piqued interest as Light watched Fox stand in what was probably supposed to be his spot, next to his wife.

Morganna entered the circle and positioned herself in the middle. She then reached into the neck of her gown and pulled out a key similar to the others and fit it into it's niche. "And now…," she started as she raised her hand in the air. A ball of energy appeared in her hand as she addressed the others surrounding her, "…take hands. Together, now!" Each person standing where they should be took hold of each other's hand and Light felt a tinge of jealousy wash over him as Fox took hold of Krystal's hand. As energy left their hands and combined with Morganna's, Fox and Krystal looked each other in the eyes and, to Light's dismay, saw each other. Light watched their hands slightly squeezed the other's, and felt a wave of pain ripple in his chest. As energy from all six people combined together in Morganna's hand, the circular drawing itself began to glow a foggy white.

All eyes were glued to the spectacular display. "…Behold!" Morgonna shouted as she hurled the enlarged ball of energy at the wall next to the entrance with the same emblem. The wall didn't explode, but absorbed the blast of energy. After a few moments of silence passed, the emblem glowed for a second or two before vanishing. Once it faded away, the wall it was attached to began to crumble away brick by brick. What was left was a small, but grand staircase that started out wide on the bottom and thinned out toward the top… where Excalibur stood before them, held in a stone boulder by it's blade. No one spoke. It was a magnificient sword to look upon. The gold handle was made from the purest and strongest of gold that exemplified glory and would not bend. And the sword's blade shined like it stored the paladin's hallowed light.

"As I'm sure you might have guessed…," Morganna began to explain. "This is the legendary sword that I lent to Merlin's student, Arthur. Although it did serve his purpose of bringing peace to the land for a short time, that was not it's true purpose. It was the key and the sword that was made to go with a powerful armor, not unlike the clout raiment's before it, but with powers that even we could not fully grasp. With the armor and the sword together, my brother went to do battle with Malxifel's Emissary before the palace walls. The battle rocked the heaven's and the Earth. Both sides took on tremendous damage. But in the end, my brother, as strong and gifted he was as a warrior, was not able to defeat the Emissary. It was a sad and unfortunate loss for us all, but in anticipation of our loss, my family had prepared last resort plan that could separate Malxifel from his Emissary." A tear rolled her cheek as she continued.

"With me standing where I am now, protected in a force field made by my mother, my father and kin took the Excalibur and gave it all the power they could muster and cast a particular spell on the blade. My brother, broken and beaten, took the sword and made one last assault on the Emissary. With one slash, the sword unleashed the empowered spell which rang true. The Emissary was caught and sucked into a time vortex, separating him from his master. With this, our final attempt, Malxifel's forces were defeated and his vortex closed in on itself, however, the power that was discharged in the aftermath of the spell that was casted enveloped all of Atlantis. My people and my family were killed in the discharge, and this island became isolated from time itself. Due to my mother's protection, I was the only survivor. From that time on, I've guarded what was left of my ruined kingdom and watched your world to soothe my loneliness. My aging process was even slowed down dramatically." Morganna took her eyes off the sword and returned her full attention to the others.

"My world is dead, and there is nothing that can be done about that. But, if one of you are able to claim Excalibur, then perhaps I can help prevent your world from meeting the same fate as my own… or worse."

As she ended her sentence, a blood curdling howl could be heard from the distance. "No, not yet," said Leonidas in fear. All eyes turned to the distant sky in horror as a triangular vortex opened, unleashing the very same armada enemies they thought they had escaped from.


	16. The Sword that Smites Evil

**Author's Note****: I consider this my July 4****th**** special. I hope you all like it, because after one more chapter, we'll be at the end of the first story arc, and at the all important chapter 17. How could it get any better than this, you ask. After reading this chapter, the next chapter's name is at the bottom and I'll leave it to your minds to interpret what it means. So be sure to Read & Review. Enjoy, everybody!**

**To supersgi****: Sorry about telling you the chapter was coming out yesterday, a few things got in my way.

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**Chapter 15**

**The Sword that Smites Evil**

The same armada that had ambushed them earlier that day was back, and it looked like they didn't appreciate Leonidas's little gift. There were substantially less of the aerial Void and the giant eye Void was missing the bottom one of its three tendrils. If there was any indication on whether or not it was angry, the giant blood shot eye that made up its body's core seemed dilated with intense rage.

When the monster's eye started to slowly glow red, everyone standing before Excalibur felt panic rise up in their throats. Brandon was the first to break out of his fear induced stupor and pulled a communicator to his mouth and frantically called the Solomon's defense team. "This is the CO; we have a level one emergency! We are being ambushed again! All gunners get to your stations…"

Before Brandon could finish his urgent message, Leonidas grabbed the communicator to add, "…And for heaven's sake, get some ground troops out here with Gaia Shields." Brandon didn't know what the Captain was talking about, but he hoped whatever these Gaia Shields were, would be at least a little helpful.

While they nervously waited for their reinforcements to arrive, Morganna turned toward the sword and stated with urgency, "We need to pull the sword from its sealing stone! If they destroy it, we're all done for." Just as she said that, the reinforcements had arrived carrying their rifles their backs and four of the twelve troopers had a little silver trapezoid shaped machines hugged to their chests. They set up the equipment in front of everyone in a half circle. With the press of a button, the machines reacted like over charged generators and each of them discharged fifteen foot tall light blue force fields that also extended their radius of protection several feet each on both sides.

Leonidas turned to Morganna while taking an extra rifle from one of the ground troopers, "This should buy you all some time, now GET that Sword!" Leonidas then went to help aid his men blasting at the aerial Voids, and Brandon was at the Captain's heels with his own rifle in hand.

With that that said, everyone else had their orders. All those who weren't assisting in the fighting made a run to go after the sword. Morganna saw this and was about to warn them against this action, but she was too late. As soon as all members of the Solomon and Great Fox reached the bottom steps of the sword's stone staircase, an invisible force electrocuted them for a second and flung them backwards, causing them to skid on the stone ground.

Allistor felt his whole body tremble as he pushed himself off the ground. "What the…" He looked around himself and saw that everyone else around just had the same shocking experience as he did.

"I was about to warn you all to not charge like you had! Only one individual at a time can approach the sword. All those it deems unworthy or if large groups charge at it, the sword will defend itself and repel its pursuers."

Falco's feather's felt singed from the initial charge to get the sword and he trembled as well while he picked himself off the ground. "Thanks for the heads up, lady," his trade mark sarcasm dripping in his voice.

"I'll say," Nat replied to his blue feathered double.

They were losing time. The Solomon's turret gunners, or what was left them from the last attack, were blasting at as many of the Void as possible. The aerial Void's numbers may have been significantly reduced from the last maneuver Leonidas pulled, but they still had a large upper hand in terms of both numbers and power. The Solomon's shields were holding up against most of their attacks, but there was no telling how long that would last. The troopers were firing at all the ones they could get while in the safety of the force fields, but they had to use their ammo charges sparingly. Put simply, it was only a matter of time before they were overrun.

Once everyone else got up and steadied their legs, Falco's feathers ruffled in anger. "After coming all this way, I'm not going to let one stupid sword stop me from completing this contract!" Fox's wingman made a second charge by himself at Excalibur. Falco leapt in the air to try and get over the first set of steps, but the sword denied his efforts and sent him flying backward a second time.

After seeing his fellow teammate's efforts, Slippy poised himself and stared with a determined expression at Excalibur. "A lot of people have always said I'm the most useless person in Starfox, but I'll at least show you my resolve." Slippy began to run in his own stumbling way after the sword, but was also rejected. He landed on the ground hard and lost consciousness.

Peppy tried his hand and followed Falco and Slippy's foot steps only to meet the same end as them. One by one, as each of them made an attempt to get Excalibur, the battle behind them intensified. Aerial Void lasers impacted with the ruined rock walls of the palace, causing the once beautiful palace to explode around them.

After most of the others had their try, Joel went and ran up to the sword and did just as well as the others, if not worse. When his body hit the ground, everyone else that was awake concluded that he was out cold.

After most of everyone else had taken their turn, Krystal was the next batter at the plate. The only thought she had in her mind at the moment was to protect her children, who were undoubtedly scared and wondering what was going on outside the safety room with hers and Light's parents. She made her own run with that thought in mind. Like all of the others, she had failed to get past the sword's defenses. When she was landed on the ground for the second time, she felt as if most of her energy had been drained from her body. "No. I've got to protect them."

Fox and Light heard her plea but, of the two, Fox had recovered most of his strength after the united charge to get the blade. Light on other hand was still on his knees, unable to pull himself up like everyone else and feeling utterly useless. Light stared up at Fox and watched him go after that sword like nothing else mattered but Krystal and the twin's safety. He felt jealousy and envy swell up in him all at once. Jealous of the fact that it was HIS Krystal that Fox was going to such lengths for, and envious because Fox had that certain something that gave him the power to do impossible things like this.

Morganna also had her bets on Fox. She saw courage and prowess like nothing she had ever seen within him. She believed he was their only hope now. What she saw in Fox was nothing like what she saw in Light. In him, she saw cowardice, hesitation, but she also saw the hint of something else. It was too brief for her to tell what it was. It felt… dangerous. She shook her troubled mind from such thoughts and returned her focus back to Fox.

The orange vulpine ran at a speed he did not know he could do. His unwavering determination was evident in his eyes. Even with such fortitude… the sword stopped him before he could set one foot on the steps. He was electrocuted for the second time and landed near where Krystal was.

Light laid his eyes upon Fox in shock. He thought for sure he would be able to be accepted as the sword's master. The young man looked around at the horror that surrounded him. Time seemed to stand still. All of his friends and family were scattered on the ground, unmoving, Leonidas, Brandon, and the troopers were fighting with all of their might, the Solomon gunners losing turrets by the minute, and the Void intent on their destruction. Then his eyes fell on Krystal. She and the twins flooded his mind. He couldn't let anything happen without a fight. Light shakily pulled himself together and stared straight ahead of himself at Excalibur. Then he did what everyone else did, he ran for it and tried to get himself through to the sword. As what happened to everyone else before him, Light was stopped in his tracks and flew backwards into his second skid.

Morganna didn't know what to do. The scene before her was disastrous. Excalibur wasn't accepting any of them as its master. With every passing year, Excalibur's power constantly grows. Morganna herself has tried to get the blade to accept her as its master, it would let her touch it, but it wouldn't really take to her. Other than her brother, the only other person to be able to gain the sword's trust was Merlin's ward, Arthur. She was absolutely sure that if no one else, Fox would be the one to obtain it. Her eyes had fallen on the orange vulpine in terror. She had been staring at Fox's body for over a minute and almost missed Light get up and dash at the blade. The sword did the same to him as it did to everyone else who went after it. She thought as much. He didn't really have any of the heroic qualities Fox had. She had observed him in his fight with that dragon-like being, but she figured the ruin's magic was what gave him those powerful qualities he had exhibited before.

While on the ground, it didn't take long for Light to realize that his body had been drained of all of its strength. From where he was, Light watched the battle with the Void rage on. Then he saw it, the glowing eye of the Void that had only been watching up to this point, stopped getting any redder and began to concentrate some of that energy out in front of it. Something very bad was coming their way, and it looked like there was almost nothing they could do. Leonidas had even taken his eyes off of it as the Void was intensifying their strike raids.

Most of everyone with him was unconscious by now, but Light was still awake and saw what was coming. He strained to roll his sight over to the Captain and tried to call out to him. He couldn't find his voice, but he kept at it. He soon found his voice again, which boomed like it was shouted through a megaphone. "CAPTAIN, LOOK!"

Leonidas turned his head sharply at Light, who had managed to slightly get his finger to point up in the air. The Captain turned back around to where Light pointed and nearly had a heart attack. Whatever the giant Void was charging up, Leonidas was dead set on giving it the chance of using it on them. He jumped over to Brandon and snatched his communicator off his waist belt to shout loud and clear into the device. "All main gunners concentrate all fire on the giant Void's top right tendril, HURRY!" It appeared the people on the bridge got the message, as the Solomon's main cannons turned from the different clusters of enemies they were firing on and locked on to their designated target.

The cannons fired all together and ripped through the enemies that were in the blasts path. Just as the Void titan finished charging and tried to unleash its attack, the cannons' blasts hit their mark. The titan's durability was greater than they had imagined. The cannon' combined assault didn't do much damage on the surface, but they did have Leonidas's desired effect. The blasts force knocked off the titan's aim, but the blast did come.

The massive misfired beam shot up and outward past Light and the others, staining the vast sky a blood red. Light's eyes widened with dread. Not long after losing sight of it, a cataclysmic explosion, not unlike that of a nuclear war head, flared up in the distance. If that had hit them, there would have been no escape. Once the sky had reclaimed its original coloring, he tore his eyes away to look back at the monstrosity that produced such power. It had already recovered and was charging up for another blast. Leonidas brought the communicator back to his mouth and called the bridge team for another barrage.

"We're sorry, Captain. We don't have much more energy left. The shields are only holding up so well right now, another attack with the cannons will just destroy our defenses."

Leonidas responded to the female voice coming through the com link by crushing it in his hand. "No! We're sitting ducks out here, even with the shields!"

Light over heard this and turned back over to everyone else. They were regaining consciousness and trying to get back onto their feet, but it seemed no one could get up from their knees. He watched Krystal and Fox try and help each other up. This whole thing seemed hopeless, yet they hadn't given up yet. That's why he shouldn't either. He had to get up. They had been through too much to be killed right then and there. They have had too many adventures together to let Excalibur stop them. The whole world was at stake and, most importantly, their families' lives were on the line. He couldn't give up now, not without a fight.

Driven only by the thought of Krystal, Dusk, Dawn, and sheer willpower, Light began to slowly get off the ground. Everyone in the immediate vicinity watched in amazement as Light began to stand up on his own two legs. It was almost awe inspiring. Out of everyone, Morganna however was completely dumbfounded. She couldn't understand how, out of everyone, he was the one to be able stand up. But it didn't matter in her mind; the sword had rejected everyone who wasn't too busy fighting. Still, she watched in astonishment with the others as Light slowly trudged toward the sword's steps.

Light came up to the steps and instantly felt Excalibur try to reject him, but he didn't care if it didn't want him, he needed it to help everyone else. Where everyone else was just flung back, Light started to gradually break through the swords electrifying grasp. All witnesses around him felt frozen in the moment. Even the Void had ceased their attack to witness this startling phenomenon. Leonidas broke himself from his own surprise, and called out for Brandon and the trooper's attention. "What are y'all gawking at, fall back and cover the lad?" With that, the troopers started retreating, having their shields close in on each other to give Light as much protection as possible and provided some cover fire while dosing so. Noticing their change of tactics, the Void change their strategy as well and decided to make Light their prime target.

Light kept walking on, ignoring everything happening around him. With each step, he had to push himself forward more and more, and Excalibur was doing the same in trying to resist Light's advance. At this rate Light's body was going to be destroyed long before his will was. It didn't matter to him though, there were people in his life that he wanted to protect, and that one thought was what fueled him.

Morganna's mouth was agape at this scene. Light passing through was odd enough, but the sheer amount of resistance Excalibur was dishing out showed how much it did NOT want Light as it's master. If it had wanted him, it would have shown him no resistance like it had for King Arthur.

By this point, everyone else were back on their feet and watching what was unfolding before them. "Yeah," Nat pounded his fist into his hand. "Show that freakin sword who's boss!"

"You can do it!" Chris shouted.

Allistor couldn't stop grinning to himself, "Now THAT'S my nephew!"

Falco felt inspiration and something relative to pride well up inside and felt choked, but in a good way. "Out of all of the things I've seen in my career, I have never seen someone with as much spirit and will like this guy." It was an almost mesmerizing sight for the blue-feathered avian.

Krystal stared at Light's back and said softly, "Light…"

Fox also had a bizarre sensation grasp onto him as he watched. 'This guy…, ' he began to comment to himself. 'Where is his strength coming from?'

It wasn't long until Light had finally reached the sword's hilt. He stretched out his hand, being bombarded by the constant flow of electricity running through his system. But he couldn't touch it. Excalibur was resisting then with amplified vigor. Light pushed with all of the strength he could immediately muster, but still couldn't force himself through those last couple of inches. He needed more strength. More power. He kept digging deeper inside of himself to find something… and he did.

Within an instant, Light found himself not in Atlantis while caught in the midst of danger, but within his mind. He looked around the emptiness that encircled him to find standing before him, the 'other' him. He looked exactly as he did ten years before. A seven year old with an extremely serious expression about him, and an adult voice. Beyond his younger self was a black crystal floating upright and giving off a putrid dark aura. It spun slowly from its position and had large streaks of cracks all over it. "What is that?" Light asked.

"_THIS… IS THE PART OF YOU I HAD ALWAYS HOPED YOU'D NEVER COME ACROSS._"

Right then, something clicked in Light's head. "Ten years ago, you should have disappeared back when we joined together? That was a lie, wasn't it?"

His younger self's eyes fell to the non-existent floor, "_YES, BUT I DID NOT DECEIVE YOU ENTIRELY. ASIDE FROM THE DISAPPEARING PART, EVERY THING I TOLD YOU WAS THE TRUTH… HOWEVER, I DID LEAVE THIS OUT FOR YOUR PROTECTION, AS WELL AS OTHERS. WHEN THE INCIDENT THAT SHATTERED YOUR MIND OCCURRED ALL THOSE YEARS AGO AS A CHILD, I AND BLITZ WERE CREATED. BEFORE US THOUGH, THIS CRYSTALLIZED ESSENCE WAS ALL THERE EVER WAS._"

Light didn't really understand what he was saying but asked cautiously, "What does this thing have to do with me?"

"_THIS CRYSTAL IS YOUR TRUE NATURE. FOR AS LONG YOU AS YOU HAVE LIVED, IT HAS BEEN HERE, BURIED IN THE RECESSES OF YOUR MIND. COMPLETELY DORMANT… ALMOST PERFECTLY IMPRISONED. WHEN YOUR MIND CRACKED, AS DID THIS CRYSTAL, AND FROM IT, BLITZ AND MYSELF WERE BORN. THIS CRYSTAL IS WHERE OUR POWERS CAME FROM, BUT MY NATURE CAME FROM YOUR HUMANITY WHILE BLITZ'S ORIGINATED FROM THE CRYSTAL ESSENCE'S CRUELTY. IT'S BECAUSE OF THIS CRYSTAL AND THE MAGIC IN YOUR STAFF THAT I WAS ABLE TO HELP YOU DEFEAT THAT FIRST FOE YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS ENCOUNTERED IN ENGLAND._"

Light then asked the one most important question. "Tell me, can it make me stronger?"

His 'other's' face fell, _"…YES, BUT I CANNOT LET THAT HAPPEN!_" Before he could say anymore, Light had already walked past him. "_WHAT ARE YOU DOING?_"

"Saving my friends and family, that's what."

"_BUT YOU CAN'T, JUST THINK ABOUT THE RAMIFICATIONS!_"

Light turned his head to his 'other's' way with narrowed eyed. "And what ramifications are you talking about?"

"_THAT KIND OF POWER COULD BE TOO OVERWHELMING FOR YOU TO CONTROL. IT MIGHT TAKE YOU OVER._"

Light turned back to the crystal and asked, "Can you hold it back? It seems that you've done a good job in doing that?"

"_WELL…, YES, BUT STILL…_"

"Stop it! I've already made my decision."

"_WHAT ABOUT KRYSTAL, DUSK, AND DAWN! IF THEY SEE YOU BECOME SOMETHING YOU SHOULDN'T, YOU MAY LOSE THEIR LOVE! WON'T YOU RECONSIDER FOR THEIR SAKE!_"

Light's face fell, but he didn't turn around and look himself in the eyes. "…I'm afraid that their love for me has already been replaced, and by someone more deserving of it. However, if I don't do this we'll all die. I'd rather lose what love they have for me, than be the one who could have done something to save them but didn't because of selfishness. Do you understand me?"

Light's 'other' sighed in sad defeat. "_YEAH, I UNDERSTAND. I'll HOLD BACK THE ESSENCE'S INFLUENCE, BUT ONCE THAT'S DONE… I TRULY WILL DISAPPEAR. I WILL VANISH INTO THE DARKEST DEPTHS OF YOUR MIND. THE POWER I'VE ALREADY GIVEN YOU IN OUR JOINING AND MY INFLUENCE WON'T FADE, BUT YOU WILL NEVER HAVE MY AIDE AGAIN_." Light nodded. His 'other' lowered his head, closed his eyes, and vanished into the nothingness.

Light stared down the crystal before him and placed his hand on it. The crystal began to glow a bright violet, waiting for Light's desperate plea. "I don't know who or what you are, or why you're inside of my body, or even how you could be who I truly am, but I'm begging you…" Before Light continued, he realized something. This was a dark path he was about to walk down, but Krystal, Dusk, Dawn, and all of his friends… They were worth it. "…Please give me the power… the power to take Excalibur,… AND UNLEASH DEATH UPON MY ENEMIES!"

After saying those words, reality was once again in full motion, and to everyone's shock, Light had inexplicably gained an extra boost of strength. This new strength propelled him through Excalibur's intangible clutches, and he grabbed the sword's handle, pulling it out from its stone seal in that instant. After being pulled out, with the sword pointed skyward, Light's figure was engulfed by a white gale of wind and a black pillar of fire twisting together in an anomalous harmony. Everyone took a step back and averted their eyes away from the sight of the flash coming from the twisting obelisk in front of them. Once the flash had subsided, their eyes returned to where Light had been standing before to find something familiar, but dangerously different.

It was Light transformed like he was at the Knossos ruins when he battle against blitz. His hair had turned snow white, with his right bangs falling over his right eye. A magnificent armor covered his body, and wings adorned his back. But this transformation was different. The armor, instead of being a bluish-white, was half white on the right side and a deep violet on the left. He didn't have one set of wings now, he had TWO. His white wings of ice were the top set, while the new bottom set was like black ice. What was new were the black ice spikes jutting out of his back. And the eyes…, they were what had Krystal's knees quaking in terror. The eyes were mismatched. The right eye was blue with red specks mixed in, and the other was red with blue also mixed in. In those eyes, no one could see anything but cruelty in those cold calculating eyes.

Morganna however, was stunned beyond comprehension. Her eyes had widened and were beginning to tremble with dread. The face and apparel was different, but she was convinced. The one standing before her, with an unwilling Excalibur in his deadly hands..., was the Emissary!

As he began to slowly descend the short stair case, no one, not even the Void, made a movement out of fear. He stepped off the staircase and looked up into the sky at the Void above. He rose up his left hand and, with the snap of his fingers, emitted a fiery shock wave that vaporized the entire Void armada in the air, leaving only the titanic Void left. Leonidas had never seen destruction or genocide of this caliber in his life. And for once in Krystal's life with Light, she felt fear for the lives of her and her children. She was so scared, she clamped her hand over Fox's for comfort, who lightly squeezed automatically. The Void looked like it was almost done charging its attack, but the new Light showed no worry. He lightly ascended into the air and raised his sword to the titanic beast. The Void finished charging it's attack and started to concentrate the burst of energy with Light in it's cross hairs.

Light began to fly up high into the sky and made a u-turn when he was almost out of plain sight. He flew down through the air like a comet, a wintry and fiery tail following behind him. Before he could reach it, the Void fired its concentrated burst at Light. The blast wrapped around him and, for a moment, everyone below thought Light was gone. That moment didn't last. Light was pushing through the monster's blast. Light rode through the attack and was soon at the Void's eye. With Excalibur out in front, he drilled his comet-like form into the beast's eye, causing it to yell out a blood curdling howl. Light burst through its body with a cold an unfeeling look in his eyes looking back at the Void. A minute passed before the results of Light's assault became apparent. Not only had Light drilled a huge hole through the beast, its body started to rip apart in different perfectly straight cut sections.

The Voids body pieces fell to the ocean leaving only Light in the Atlantis air. No one could accurately describe what kind of feelings were going through their mind.

Joel was staring up with his teeth biting his lip hard enough to draw blood, and his fist clenched tightly in his pocket. His eyes seemed to have been narrowed in anger as he put his other hand on his front coat pocket, where the crystal he kept was.

Krystal wasn't even sure if this was her reality anymore. She just stood looking up, her body shaking all over. "…Oh, Light. What are you?" She thought she knew everything about her husband, but that wasn't true apparently.

Leonidas's mind couldn't completely register what just happened along with everyone else, but he was pulled from his thoughts by Morganna who looked at him gravely. "Leonidas, we need to have a talk. Alone, preferably."

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**Author's Note****: The next chapter will be called, "Naturally Inclined Betrayal."**


	17. Naturally Inclined Betrayal

**Author's Note****: As some of you may know, someone has tried to plagiarize my works which is part of the reason why this chapter is late. I've been having to deal with this guy who said I stole his story from seven years ago, but I only got into Starfox fanfiction two years ago. Before that, I spent all of my time as a reader in Artemis Fowl, Anime, and Pokemon. So now that this is out of the way, I believe the situation will resolve itself. It's already turned the tables on the plagiarizer. I've been getting more than double the amount of usual amount of hits and more people are noticing my work. So the jokes on him. Be sure to Read and Review.**

**!Music Alert!**** In the last scene in the bedroom, play the song "Your Not Alone," sung by katethegreat19 on youtube. It's also this arc's theme song. **

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Chapter 16**

**Naturally Inclined Betrayal**

After that fearsome display of power, just as soon as the transformation had came, it went away once he gracefully landed and set his feet on land. No one really knew how to voice what they were feeling about this. When Light had noticed their stares, he had to look away out of shame and embarrassment. An awkward silence had come over all of them. They were victorious over the Void, but Light couldn't help but feel that the cost was too great.

Once everyone had gotten over most of their shock, Leonidas ordered everyone to board the ship. When everyone had, Leonidas turned to Morganna. "We can talk in my private quarters on the Solomon. Do you mind leaving with us?"

Morganna shook her head. "There is nothing left for me here. And we all are still facing a deadly crisis, so I want to help you as much as I am able." Leonidas nodded and motioned for her to board the ship as well. She curtly nodded and did so. Leonidas walked up to the boarding platform but, before stepping inside, he turned to the sky where the Void armada used to be. He had an ominous feeling in his heart that this day was not yet over.

Back on the ship, as soon as Light stepped through the command bridge door with everyone else, he found all eyes of the command bridge centered on him. It was the same kind as the ones his friends and wife had given him. The twins and his and Krystal's' parents were there as well. Light guessed that they had left the safe room when he had incinerated the Void and caught sight of him in his transformed state like they had stumbled upon a dirty secret, which was hitting the nail on the head. It seemed like Krystal's parents had found more than enough reason to not trust him, along with Sabre. Light's own parents weren't exactly sure what to think about their own son. And the twins… It seemed that they were just a little bit behind their grandparents legs out of fear… of him. It was almost like he had been made an outcast all over again, for the first time since his school days before he and Krystal had met.

Leonidas entered the room and broke the awkward silence that settled in, much to Light's relief. "Allistor, Lindsey. We'll be leaving immediately and I'm putting you two in charge while I speak with Morganna in my quarters. It's a private conference so I don't wish to be disturbed. So now, Allistor, if you don't mind, please chart a course for the Cerinian palace."

"Yes, Captain." Allistor, Lindsey, and everyone else went right to work to fulfill their orders and Leonidas left to converse with Morganna, who should have already been escorted to his room. From that point on, it was all business for the rest of the trip home. While traveling back out of the Bermuda Triangle's tunnel, throughout the whole time there, not a single person would look Light in the eyes. For almost the whole three hours back, he just sat in his room alone. The door was open, but no one dared to even look through the door as they passed by, mostly out of fear… except for one.

Light heard the coming steps and lifted his face off the floor to see Joel before him. "How are you holding up?" He said with a concerned smile.

Light sighed and returned his focus to the floor before answering, "Not too good, I'm afraid. No matter what I do, I can't seem to find any acceptance anymore. Not even from my friends, now."

Joel sat down beside him and analyzed Light silently. "Things will get better."

Light almost scoffed. "Do you really think so?"

Joel patted Light's back all friendly-like. "I know so. Before long, I'm sure Krystal and everyone else will come to their senses. She may be confused right now but, if you give her some time, I'm sure she will realize what's most important to her." Joel just then noticed something. "Um… where is your sword."

"Leonidas had someone come and take it for protective storage."

"Oh. Well, I think I ought to get going now. Krystal only gave me a five minute break." Before he could exit the room, Light called out for him to wait a moment. "Yes?"

"Thanks, for… you know, trying to cheer me up."

Joel smiled with his eyes closed and nodded. Light watched him leave from the doorway's sight, hoping desperately that Krystal's raven-haired assistant was right.

Before long, they had arrived outside of the Bermuda Triangle's entrance and were soon teleported to the front gate of the Cerinian palace. The sun was beginning to set in the distance, showing how much time had passed since that morning. Leonidas decided it was best for Light and all of them to stay on Cerinia while he took the Solomon back to P.O.U.R. for major repairs. With the King and Queen's security undoubtedly increased, they should have been safer there until he came back and decided what their next move was going to be. Allistor and Lindsey got permission to stay with the others as well, so as to keep an eye on things for the Captain. Before getting off, Krystal did have Leonidas let her take her Azure-Light so she could do some tests, maintenance, and calibrations on it in the morning. The only one's who were going with Leonidas out of Light's large party, was Brandon and Peppy.

Once the Solomon had left to P.O.U.R. HQ, Randorn's guards came to check on him. They were going to escort all of them inside the palace, but the King halted their action. He felt that Leonidas had the right idea in splitting them up, so he decided to follow suit. Instead of giving everyone a room inside of the palace, Randorn had the guards take them to the guest cabins a little way from the palace gates, but also near a safe house in the case of another attack. When they reached the cabins, they didn't look what Earthlings would refer to as a cabin. They were dome shaped buildings and they were scattered throughout the grassy field that was in between the palace and a military bunker. Although they were normally only used as guest houses for political ambassadors, royalty, and the like.

The Cerinian people took notice of the King and Queen's arrival and cheered for them to show that they were glad for their safe return. Undoubtedly, everyone was glad to be back and get some rest while they had the chance.

Fox, Falco, and Slippy got a three bedroom cabin to themselves, as did Nat, Chris, and Alex. Allistor and Lindsey got a single bedroom for themselves and Light's parents did the same. Light and Krystal got a three bedroom cabin so they can have a room for the each of the twins and a room for themselves. Sabre, on the other hand, wanted to stay in his room in the palace.

Just as night was upon them and they had gotten a little more settled in, Randorn and Mira decided to have a little victory dinner in Light and Krystal's cabin home with friends and family. Make no mistake, Randorn was still extremely suspicious of Light, but he had reasoned with himself on the flight home that he had never given Light the benefit of the doubt. That terrifying and awe-inspiring display of power aside, he did walk through an immeasurable amount of pain to save them. He might have misjudged the young man, so he wanted to take this time away from the action and danger to get to know the man his daughter married better.

The only ones who decided not to attend the dinner were Fox and his team. It was Fox's decision, though Falco and Slippy sort of secretly wished to attend as well, but they went along with Fox's choice knowing the reason why he didn't want to go. Fox still couldn't stand the thought of Krystal and Light being together. He believed he had made excellent progress, and in a way he did hold a few victories over Light thanks to the trip to Atlantis, but Krystal was still married to Light. He had made a little bit of his feelings known to her, but he hadn't yet crossed that point of no return to actually try and win Krystal over. Nothing had been able to push him across that point yet, so he still was feeling the hurt.

It was awkward for Falco and Slippy to be around their friend for very long when he was like this. They watched him sit at the kitchen table poking the food that the palace chef had made for them with a long face, his head propped up on his hand, and distant eyes. "Um… Fox," Slippy began. Fox heard them, but didn't make any indication that he did. "We're going to go ahead and get to sleep so we can get an early start for tomorrow. You ought to get some rest, yourself." Fox still said nothing. "Well, goodnight." Then the frog and falcon ascended the stairs to their rooms so they can retire for the night.

Fox wasn't tired though, his mind was just filled to the brim with thoughts of Krystal. He loved her and, more than anything in the world, he wanted to be with her. Right at that moment, Light, Krystal, their family, and their friends were eating together and enjoying themselves. It was a little after ten at the moment and the festivity should have been ending soon. He sighed in vexation, pushing himself out of his leather seat, and leaving the kitchen to go to his room as well. With any luck on his part, maybe he'll be able to get at least a few hours of sleep.

Before he could go upstairs to where the bedrooms were, he heard a light knocking at the door. It was too light for Slippy and Falco's hearing, but Fox's ears picked it up clear as day. He walked up to the door and opened it to find no one there. He looked side by side and around the entrance, but didn't see or hear anyone around the place. For a second, he thought it might have been his imagination. He was under a lot of stress what with what he was going on as of late. Then he felt something brush up against his foot when he stepped out of the door to try and find his mystery knocker.

He looked down and beside his foot was a small, saucer shaped package. It resembled the flying saucers most of the world usually attributed with aliens before Krystal revealed herself. Affixed to both sides of the saucer was diamond shaped black gem shards. Taped to the side of the device were a letter and a video jewel case. Fox peeled them off and let his eyes move across the letter's writing.

'_I know what your going through, and I want you to know that I believe the one Krystal should be with is you. Enclosed in the envelope is a set of instructions and a disc. Just follow the instructions and make use of the contents within it, and the device I've provided, and you will have your beloved_.'

While reading the note, he never noticed the black gems brief glow. The ghost of a smile forced itself on his face. Suddenly he felt something in his mind give him the push he needed to finally cross over the point of no return and prove that he was one Krystal should be with.

Back at Light and Krystal's cabin home, it had seemed that most of the tension that had built up since Light's Void onslaught had vanished for the most part. It also helped that everyone in the building did not mention the said 'onslaught.' Randorn and Mira had been asking Light questions about his personal life and history, while Light's parents asked about how they raised Krystal. Light had told them everything he had told Krystal about his hard climb for the acceptance of his peers, which he still didn't fully have, even when Krystal arrived and married him, but she was a big help. Light and Krystal's friends ate, drank, and joked together. Some of Nat's jokes were going in the dangerous direction of Light and Krystal's honeymoon. He even mentioned the time he tried to sneak a peak into Krystal and Light's honeymoon sweet, only to be foiled by Krystal's furry knuckles. This resulted in, not an angry, but a quick playful punch to the shoulder by Krystal to Nat to silence him for Dawn and Dusk's sake. She laughed about it though, enjoying the trip down memory lane.

It was unfortunate that Allistor and Lindsey couldn't come because of some work left to them by Leonidas. And Joel said he was close to a breakthrough on his pet project. As for Fox and his team, she was kind of glad that he wasn't around at the moment. She needed to spend some more time with Light and try and fix their stressed marriage.

Everyone who was there had a merry old time, but it was getting very late and a good night's rest was needed. Before the night could end though, Randorn had to ask Light one very important question before he left. "Light, you say you love my daughter, but how far would you go for her?"

To Light, it was a fair question but he wanted to make sure he had the right words to answer it. Light gathered his nerves and took a stern expression. "Well, I would do all I'd possibly can… no! I would give all that I had and more to always be there for her and protect her, as well as Dawn and Dusk. They mean the world to me." Light couldn't really figure out how to explain it better than that, but it seemed to appease Krystal's father and mother. Randorn may not have been entirely sure of Light, but he wanted to at least give Light a fair and honest chance, and it seemed Mira felt the same way as her husband.

The King and Queen stood up from their seats and bowed slightly to the gathered party. "I believe it's time for us retire for the night. Thank you for the company, and good night." Randorn and Mira then walked through the threshold to the palace.

Treading behind them was Sabre who put a comforting hand on Light's shoulder. "You know what; I think they are getting used to you." He chuckled a bit in his throat. "Perhaps I am too, I guess." Then he left to follow his and Krystal's parents.

Chris stood up as well and stretched with a long yawn. "After everything we've been through today, it almost seems like an eternity since I last slept."

"Yep," Alex joined in. "Time flies when you're traveling between dimensions."

Nat stretched his arms out as far as he could above his head. "Then what are we waiting for, I can hear my bed calling." The three of them said their goodbyes and left.

All that was left now was Krystal, Light, the kids, and Sarah and Timmy. With the dinner officially over Krystal turned to her kids. "Dawn, Dusk, it's past your bed time."

"Awww," They both whined. "Can we pleeeaase stay up a little longer, Momma," Dawn begged.

"Just a little longer," her twin repeated, but Krystal would not be swayed.

"I'm sorry you two, but no. You two are growing children and you need your sleep."

They whined again, but reluctantly nodded. "Alright, Momma," they said and went up the stairs to go to bed. They wanted to show that they weren't tired, but their yawns betrayed them.

Sarah and Timmy smiled happily at the little treasures. "They are a couple of precious angel's aren't they."

Krystal smiled broadly, "they're my babies."

Timmy looked down at his watch and tapped it to make sure it was working. "It is getting late, isn't it. Come on Sarah, we shouldn't intrude any more than we already have." Sarah nodded.

"I guess your right. Thanks for having us over, Dear."

"Don't worry, Mom. I'm always happy to have you both over," Krystal laughed. She liked to refer to both sets of parents as mom and dad. The two got up, hugged Light and Krystal, and then opened the door to leave. Before stepping through, they were all surprised to see Fox waiting in the door way. "Fox?" He nodded and got out of the way for Light's parents to get through. Sarah and Timmy had a terrible feeling in their gut, but silently dismissed it and left. Once Light's parents were gone, Krystal turned back to Fox and asked, "What are you doing here?"

Fox stepped in through the door and turned to Light, "Do you mind if I speak to Krystal alone for a moment." Light narrowed his eyes, not liking this one bit. He turned to Krystal to see what Krystal thought about this. She thought about it for a while before nodding back at her husband. Light wasn't sure if he still had his wife's love, but he did trust her completely.

"Alright. I'll go upstairs and wash up then." Light then went upstairs to the bathroom and let them have their private talk.

Once they were out of earshot, Krystal started gathering up dishes on the table and brought them to the kitchen to be washed. "What are you doing here, Fox? And why didn't you, Falco, and Slippy come for dinner. Everyone was invited you know."

"I know but we decided to get some rest so we can get an early start on tomorrow."

"I understand that, but that still doesn't answer my question."

Fox then stepped up to her boldly. "I want an answer to my question. Back on the ship, I asked you a question and I want an answer." Krystal knew what he was talking about, but that was something she really wanted to avoid right now. Her relationship with her husband had become very high strung as of late.

"I don't really know if I have an answer. I have been just SO confused as of late with all of these memories and feelings that I have, but shouldn't have!" Krystal seemed to be on the brink of tears because of all of this, so Fox stepped further toward Krystal and whispered in her blue-furred ear. "Here, this should help you find an answer." Then, to Krystal's immense surprise but not entirely unwelcome, Fox closed the distance that separated their lips and kissed her with all of his passion. Krystal's brain went into sensory overload, but she found herself forgetting about the world around her and melting into the kiss. She leaned into the kiss, relishing all of the feelings and sensations flooding her. It just felt so… natural to her.

Upstairs, Light was busy washing his face before he and Krystal went to bed. He was apprehensive about letting fox and Krystal talk alone, but he reasoned that that might have been his own insecurity. Upon looking in the mirror, he saw something in it and turned to his hand to find a smudge on his wedding band. He tried washing it off with water but the smudge wouldn't come off. He looked around to find some soap but he guessed it might have been in the kitchen.

Light left the bathroom, and started to descend the stairs while freeing his wedding band from his finger. When he reached the way into the kitchen, he raised his head and instantly wished he hadn't. The wedding ring he was playing with in his hand fell inaudibly to the ground almost in slow motion. There in the kitchen was his wife and Fox kissing like nothing else around them existed, while Light's body was frozen wide-eyed at the betrayal that was before him. Light felt something crack in his chest. He didn't know if the pain he was feeling was physically there, but he wasn't sure how what he was feeling couldn't be real. Not only was Fox kissing her, she enjoying it and encouraging him on. They both didn't even take notice that he was standing right there. Light wanted to confront them he found that he couldn't. The only thing he could think to do was step back, and mindlessly walked up the stair to their room, his hand clutched to his chest, just above where his heart was.

Back in the kitchen, Fox had broken off the kiss first and placed a note into her hands and said. "Give this to Light for me okay."

Krystal still hadn't gotten out of her pleasure high when Fox asked her to give the note to Light; she just muttered a small, "Mm-hmm." Then he quickly moved to leave the building. When the door closed shut after him, Krystal finally regained a portion of her focus and stared at the note in her hands. Just then, Krystal realized what she had just down. She had never felt so low before in her life. Every promise, every vow she had ever made to Light… broken just like that. He would all the time talk about how he wasn't sure if he could be worthy of her and she would reprimand him for it and tell him that he was wrong. Now she wasn't even so sure of herself now. She walked upstairs to her and Light's room and saw Light there. Upon seeing him, she automatically put on a façade to act as if nothing had ever happened, never knowing that Light was doing the same.

"So…," he began. "What all did you two talk about?"

Krystal panicked in her mind. "He just stopped by to say that he needed me for a secret project," she lied. She could practically feel the guilt rack her body and taint her soul black. 'WHAT AM I DOING!' she screamed in her mind.

"Oh," he simply replied. "What kind of project was he talking to you about with you?" Krystal noticed that his eyes were turned away from her and looked distant. She was glad he wasn't looking at her. She just wouldn't be able to bear looking into his eyes, afraid of what he might find in hers.

"It wouldn't be a secret if I told you."

"Yeah… I guess so." Krystal and Light kept their eyes away from the other and she wanted to do anything to make up an excuse to go to sleep. She then remembered the note in here hands and handed it to him. "What's this?"

"A note. Fox said the note was for you." He took it and stared at the folded piece of paper. Krystal wanted to get out of this awkward situation as quick as possible. "I'm going to go get changed for bed, now."

As soon as she left to the bathroom, Light unfolded the note and scanned the words inside. Once he finished, he crumpled it up in his hand. Somehow, he knew deep down something like this happen. He let the note fall on the floor beside the bed and lay down in his bed. Not long after, Krystal came in wearing her violet night gown and got under the covers. "And… What was the note about?" she said to try and break some of this ice and try to figure out what fox was thinking.

"He wanted me to come by some time tomorrow to have a little conversation. That's all."

"Okay." Krystal was going to make it a point to try and keep an eye on that orange vulpine during Light's visit.

Before Krystal could begin trying to get some sleep, Light tried to speak to her and moved his hand to hold hers. When their hands touched, Krystal's hand retracted like it had been in contact with fire. And awkward silence arose from being quenched before. They looked away from each other and couldn't find anymore words between them and went to sleep. An hour and a half later, Light turned over in bed and saw that Krystal was asleep. He then got up to take his pajamas off and put his clothes back on. Light snuck out of the building and stared up at the Earth and the moon, visible in the midnight sky. He turned from the sky to his family's cabin. A single tear rolled down the side of his cheek. "I love you all." With him saying that in the empty night air, he turned around and went to go meet Fox in the palace garden to do what Fox's crumpled note on the floor of his and Krystal's room implied.

'_Light, I want you to meet me tonight at midnight in the palace garden. It's time we decided once and for all, who is more worthy to be with Krystal_.'


	18. To Snuff Out a Light

**Author's Note: Two updates in one week! Told you guys I would do this this summer. This is it people. The big one. I'm sorry for being late on this, but it couldn't be helped. I had a project to do for a summer class, but I ended up having more problems with it than I realized. Doesn't matter, I'll just celebrate like today was the 2nd anniversary. I'm going to take a week off from updating because I have a couple of important events coming up soon, so the week after the next week is when the next chapter will be updated. So, yeah, I will be leaving you all off on a big cliffhanger. Sorry, but, oh well. As a word of advice, don't think too far ahead from this point on. Be sure to remember to READ&REVIEW **

**!Music Alert!: Final Fantasy Dissidia's "The Messenger" or "Chaos the last battle."

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**Chapter 17**

**To Snuff Out a Light**

It didn't take long for Light to arrive at the palace garden. While it was dark out, the moon and pedestal lamps that were scattered throughout the area made the garden glow brilliantly. The night air was cold, but not unbearable. It was a beautiful night in all honesty. If it wasn't for the reason why he was out, it would have been a perfect night to take a stress lowering stroll. The smells that invaded his senses were also able to lift his mood a bit.

Light walked down a path aligned with blue roses and felt a ripple in his soul as he neared the end of path. Fox was a little ways beyond the path and he was leaning against a tree with his arms crossed. "Nice night, tonight?" he said without looking at his human company.

It was practically the first time either of them had spoken to each other. Fox normally just addressed Krystal, so this made Light a little uncomfortable. Still, he had to agree with the orange vulpine pilot. "Yeah, it is. It's been a long time since I was last out on a night like tonight."

Fox then turned his full attention on Light. "You do realize why we're out here, right?"

Light nodded and lowered his sight to the ground. "I do. As much as I'd like to just take a walk out in this garden, we do need to settle this problem between us." Fox pushed away from the tree his back was resting on and started approaching Light. The young man brought his eyes up and peered into fox's. The vulpine's eyes were not as he had seen them before. The usual shine in his eyes were dimmer than what he normally saw of the older being. "So, how were you intending to do this?"

"A duel." Light couldn't force down the amused chuckle that came out of his mouth. Fox rose an eyebrow at this. "What is it?"

Light regained control of his laughter and turned back to Fox. "I don't really know. Somehow, I just knew it would be something like that." Fox couldn't hold back a chuckle as well.

"I guess so." Fox then pulled out the device he found with his parcel and held it out to Light. "Here, shake my hand."

Light eyed him and the device curiously, "What's that?"

"This is what will allow us to have our 'conversation' away from public and prying eyes."

Light was feeling very wary and hesitated. His resolve did solidify however. He took the other side of the device in his palm, as Fox already had, and the results became apparent. The saucer machine started to glow a dark purple from both of the black crystals on the sides. Energy was overflowing out of the device and wrapped around the two, smothering them in it's power. Before Light could be utterly engulfed by the energy, he shouted with all of his might, "No! KRYSTAL!"

Far away from the site where Fox and Light were confronting each other, Krystal was startled from her sleep and bolted upright screaming, "Light!" She looked around the room and thought it was just a nightmare from how labored her breathing was and how tight her chest felt. Before she could catch her breath, a bright and eerie purple light shone through the window. "What the…"

At that moment, her children burst through the door looking scared and worried. "Momma," Dawn yelled. "What's going on? I thought I heard Daddy scream and then there's this weird light."

Dusk looked at the bed and asked worriedly, "Momma… where's Daddy?"

Krystal's eyes widened with horror. She slowly turned and found her husband's side of the bed empty. How could she have not noticed that in the first place? She turned sharply toward the lit up window and ordered her kids, "Follow me. I think I know where your father is." The kids nodded slowly and took one of their mother's hands each, and ran with her to the cabin door.

Krystal opened it and was about to exit through, but her brother's concerned form was blocking the way. "Krystal, it's Light and Fox!"

"Wh-what is it," she stuttered out in a surprised yelp.

"There's no time, we've gotta hurry!" Krystal followed her brother's orders and prayed that nothing bad would happen when she got there.

Light and Fox found themselves standing in the middle of an arena-like platform with giant stone blocks scattered about the place. Surrounding the arena was a sky of black and violet; two colors constantly trying to mix together, but never finding compromise. In a way, it reminded Light of his current situation with Fox. Speaking of Fox, Light turned to him and demanded, "Where did you get that device, Fox?" After getting a closer look, the young man saw that his furry company was no longer in possession of said device. "And where did it go."

"Let's just say that someone out there likes me. As for where it came from and where it went, I don't really know. Does it really matter though? We're here to settle our differences. This arena is a place where we can duel to our heart's content. While we're here, we won't be able to die, but we will feel every bit of pain that we dish out to each other. It'll be like a combat simulation. And this place will only disappear and send us back to the garden when a clear victor has been decided" Light wasn't sure if he believed Fox on every statement he said, but from the look of Fox's eyes, it looked like Fox believed what he was saying. "Well…, in any case…" Fox positioned his body for his favored martial arts style. "It's time we found out who is strong and worthy enough to protect and be with Krystal!"

Light responded to Fox's positioning by readying himself the same way in the ice style of martial arts, taught to him by Krystal when he first met her. "Right. One…," Light began.

"…Two…," Fox said, tensing his muscles as Light did as well. He even had a competitive grin etched on his face. It'd had been a while since his last spar. He knew that this would be different though. This was going to push the both of them to their limits, and that's how he liked it.

"….THREE!" they yelled in unison as they charged at each other.

Krystal, the twins, and Sabre soon arrived to the garden behind the palace and they found everyone else already there. And there were many other Cerinians there as well, surrounding whatever was in the center of the crowd. Krystal and her escort moved her through the crowd and eventually found her father and mother there. Krystal ran to them and hurriedly asked, "What's happened to Light and Fox? Where are they?"

Her parents turned away from her and looked to the center. "They're in there. But don't try to go after them, we've tried and couldn't get through."

Confused by her father's words, Krystal's sight followed her parents and she laid eyes on a giant black and violet hemisphere bubble. And inside the bubble were the images of Light and Fox fighting on a platform riddled with stone blocks. "What in the world are they doing?" From her experience, it looked like they were trapped in a pocket dimension. "Joel," Krystal snapped at her assistant, who seemed to have been watching the scene before him very intently.

"Yes, Ma'am," he replied sharply and at attention.

"Go fetch the Azure-Light. We're getting them out of there."

"Right," Joel nodded seriously. Then Krystal turned back to the image in the bubble and stood there hoping Joel got back quick before this fight took a turn for the worse. Then she felt a tug at her arm and looked into her kids frightened eyes that threatened to release tears.

"Momma, what are Daddy and Fox doing? Why are they fighting each other," Dawn cried.

Krystal knelt down and lightly shushed her daughter. "Don't worry, Sweaty. I promise you that things will be alright." She said that, but she didn't know for sure, and didn't know what else to say to the child.

Dusk was facing his own internal conflict. 'Now we'll get to see who's father is better,' Marcus commented to Dusk.

'SHUT UP!' The young boy screamed out. 'You're always treating my Dad like dirt and I've had it. Just shut up and leave me alone.' Marcus found himself speechless at Dusk's internal outburst and couldn't speak.

Inside the bubble, the two were neck and neck at the beginning, but Light was tiring out much faster than his orange-furred opponent. Fox kept throwing a barrage of kicks at Light with his metal boots, which kept Light on his guard and from going on the offensive. Light kept on getting pushed back by every kick he had to block, but one kick spread itself too far from the others. This gave Light the opening he needed. He grabbed Fox's foot by the ankle and pulled the vulpine in to get a light slam with his palm to the vulpine's left shoulder.

The palm attack from Light pushed Fox back a few meters away. The vulpine noticed that his left arm was paralyzed and wasn't responding to his brain impulses. He gave a light chuckle at this. "Not bad. I have to say, you're the best fighter I've ever had to go against."

Light smiled at the praising comment. "Thanks. I had a great teacher."

Watching Light from outside the bubble, King Randorn instantly realized that the human was fighting with the ice style of Cerinian martial arts, and he was surprisingly quite efficient with it. Perhaps he misjudged Light more so than he thought.

Fox's smile mirrored Light's. "Well, don't worry. I don't really need my left arm to beat you." Fox leaped at Light and went at him with quick chops from his right hand. Light was barely able to dodge the first two chops thrown at him, but the third slammed into his chest and made the human stepped back a little. Light was stunned by the attack and Fox didn't relent. The vulpine jumped up for a hard kick at Light. Light recovered enough to see the kick coming, but not enough to move out of the way. The humans arms were already bruised and stinging from the kicks before, but he used them again to block a bit of the impact of the incoming jump kick. The force sent Light flying back and made him fall and skid on the floor until his back came into contact with a stone block.

Rising his head through the pain, Light saw that Fox hadn't even broken a sweat, whereas he was already panting and struggling to keep up. "Now can you see the difference between us? Krystal needs someone who can protect her. She needs someone who is worthy enough to be with her." Fox's demeanor took a hateful turn there. The ace pilot tilted his face to the ground and he gripped his palm tensely. "That person… was supposed to be me." Light watched as tears fell to the ground below Fox's face. "All of my life, I've felt that there was something important missing in my life. But no, it wasn't just missing, it was stolen." Fox turned back to Light with a snarl. "YOU STOLE MY FAMILY FROM ME! And I bet you use her and parade her around as your trophy wife, don't you?" Light lowered his head as he slowly picked up his feet with his hand rested against the block behind him to steady his legs, staying silent as he did so. "Answer me already!"

"You're right." Fox and everyone watching the bubble stiffened at what they heard. "You're stronger than me, faster than me. You're also one of the most courageous people I've ever known. Ever since Krystal came into my life, I could never help but wonder about whether or not I was worthy to be with her. I've spent my whole with her comparing myself to you. In a way, I kind'a looked up to you as a child growing up, relishing in the star blazing adventures that was your life. When I met Krystal, all I ever did was question my existence. Was I ever meant to do anything amazing, or was I ever going to meet anyone truly special to me. She helped me realize my dreams, and she completed my life. During this adventure, I began to realize something."

Krystal and everyone outside stood frozen, listening intently to what Light was saying.

"I guess I realized that no matter what I'd do, there would always be a place that I'm not able to touch… but you can. My love for her is something I can't fully explain. To make her happy… I would give up my very life just to see her smile. I guess in the end, all that I ever was really, was a stupid little delivery boy. Watching over and taking care of something that never truly belonged to me." What Krystal heard next would probably haunt her mind for a long time to come. "When I saw you and Krystal kissing in the kitchen, my heart shattered like never before…" There was no point in holding back tears for Light and Krystal. "…But it brought me back down to reality. She's the most important person in my whole life, but I guess she doesn't really love me. I think the only one she has ever truly loved… was you."

"No! You're wrong!" Krystal yelled in vain to try and get Light to hear her cry. She felt so stupid after hearing Light say what he had caught her and Fox doing. Stupid and ashamed. She had turned HER Light into a cuckolded fool.

"But, what I don't do is parade her around like a trophy wife. She's just too important to me. I love her with my all of my heart and soul, and I want to prove to you that my love for her is just as deep, if not deeper than your own! That is my wish!"

Fox gritted his teeth in frustration. "I can't… I can't accept that. I will NOT accept that!"

Light locked eyes with Fox and a familiar aura could be seen around him. Fox himself had a new burning aura as well. Soon, both auras were visible to naked eyes of all those watching. Fox's was indeed a red and orange flame that surrounded his body, but didn't burn him. On a contrary, it seemed to have been healing him of his wounds instead. Light's was different however. White and black streams of power were beginning to wrap around him, but Light was trying to resist it, remembering what the other him had said. "No, not like this. I want to deal with this in my own way!"

Not too far away from the palace, Joel was dragging the Azure-Light to where the crowd was until the pyramid shaped machine's pointed top began to glow a bright blue. "What in the world?" All of a sudden, a blast of energy shot out from where Light's staff was fixed, and was on course for where the crowd had gathered. "So…," Joel said to himself. "It looks like it's already begun." 'I have to get there, quick, before it ends,' he mentally said to himself.

Back to where the crowd had gathered, the people there watched in awe as a bright blue stream of energy penetrated the bubble and flowed into Light's body. The darkness that was trying to cover Light's body began to recede, leaving only white and blue Light to mingle around his being. Most of everyone had to look away as before so as not to be blinded. When the light faded, what greeted them was a sight for Krystal and everyone's sore eyes. It was Light, like no one in over ten years had ever seen him before. Instead of the terrifying and unforgiving form in Atlantis, it was the angelic and determined form that was first seen at the Knossos ruins. A beautiful and handsome face, hair as white and pure as Christmas snow, a set of ice wings that shimmered from even where he was, and a frigid set of light-blue armor that cover all except his head.

Light outstretched his right arm and opened his palm. His sword from all those years ago, the Light's Ice Frost, materialized in his hand. The pure white blade with crystal-ice edges completed the image. Then he held the sword out in front of him, with both hands gripped to the blue, diamond-patterned hilt. "Are you ready, Fox?"

Fox had regained his composure after watching the spectacle of what he guessed was Light's true fighting form. He smiled and his flaming aura began to blaze brighter and bigger than before. "I'm always ready."

"No more holding back, now?"

Fox got into a fighting position again. "Wouldn't dream of it." And then they lunged at each other with renewed strength and vigor. At this point, all reason was thrown out the window. The only thing driving them both now was their instincts and their love for one blue furred princess.

Outside the bubble, Joel had just arrived with the machine and his laptop. "What took you so long," Krystal yelled.

"Both of these things together aren't light, you know."

"It doesn't matter, there's not much time! They'll kill each other if we don't do something fast to get them out of there!"

"Alright, here!" Krystal took Joel's laptop and immediately went to work on calibrations and formulas. Joel got behind the machine and started plugging in wires to the Azure-Light's base. As they did this, Krystal kept watch on what Light and Fox were doing as helplessly as everyone else.

Light thrust his sword at Fox, who dodged and side-stepped to the inside. Fox punched Light's gut, who doubled over, giving Fox the perfect position to drive his knee up at his forehead. Light was knocked back a couple meters by this, but he recovered quickly. Just as a flaming Fox was about to send another kick at his face, Light jumped in close and fired a cold ice wave point blank at the vulpine in midair. The blast shot across the arena with Fox along for the ride, destroying several of the stone blocks at once. Once the blast dissipated and Fox was on the ground, Light watched Fox get try to recover and get up again.

Once Fox was back on his feet, he stared into Light's eyes and was gone in a flash. Light was startled at this. One moment Fox was there, and in a blur he wasn't. Light looked around to try and find him, but he didn't have to look. Fox rammed his body into Light's and was still running with the human in his grasp at a blindly mind blowing speed that no normal person could fathom. Fox launched himself at a stone block and drove Light into the monolith. The vulpine continued his assault by slamming his head over and over and over into Light's chest, searing his chest and causing him to cough out blood. Whatever kind of simulation this was Light had a feeling it was made by someone sadistic. Before a fourth head butt could came into contact, Light let out a full body burst of cold energy to distance himself from the vulpine. Fox tried to use his super speed again, but Light was ready for it this time. The human also started moving at a supersonic speed to match his opponents.

Fox and Light's primary weapons kept colliding at each other in their super sonic state. Steel boot and cold blade clashed with each other with enough force to cause the floating arena to shake at its core. Soon, Fox had Light pinned with his rapid kicks a second time, except this time, Light was blocking with his sword. Instead of staying on the ground though, Light flew up into the sky to get away from the countless attacks. With the supposed height advantage, he outstretched his open hand and started firing a barrage of ice shards at Fox from above. To keep himself from being hit by the shards, Fox ducked behind a block for cover. Light wasn't the only one with ranged attacks though, Fox grabbed his laser pistol and retaliated with several short bursts.

Light stopped his barrage and flew out of the way of the beams that shot past him. It turned out his advantage was a tactical disadvantage. He was and open target in the sky. He put himself in a nose dive to avoid the beams but one hit its mark and burned a hole in his left wing. The human did as Fox did and moved behind a block to recuperate and think of a strategy. It didn't take long for him to come up with one. He knew Fox saw where he landed and listened for which side he was from. The running footsteps became audible and Light formed an ice sphere in his hand and launched it out at the block's left side. Fox was in the left lane and saw the shot coming, but didn't have enough time to move out of the way. The blast struck and exploded on his arm that wasn't paralyzed, the force also launching him into a block.

Even though the vulpine hit the block hard, he could still stand and turned to see what became of his arm. It looked like it was freezing from the shoulder on down. Fox was too focused on his arm to notice the ice shards coming his way. One missed, but the second ebbed itself into Fox's thigh. Even with the added pain, Fox blocked the incoming punch with his shoulder. Fox's hand hadn't completely frozen yet, so he tried to whip his pistol out and fire at Light's gullet. He was a little too slow as Light used his sword's hilt to knock the weapon out of the Fox's hands. The pistol slid a few feet and Light kicked Fox in the chest to get him away. The human leaped of the pistol and sliced it in half with his sword. Less than a second after, a steel boot round housed into his the side of his head. Light's body flew in the air against his will and skidded back.

Light got up panting and stared down the orange vulpine, who also looked like he was running out of gas. Out of nowhere, a rainbow sphere appeared above their heads like a signal. Just by looking at it, they both knew the end of the conflict was nearing. Whoever got the sphere first was going to be the victor here.

Krystal and everyone watching outside also felt an end coming. Krystal was almost done, but she had to hurry to be finished completely. There wasn't much time left.

Fox's flame aura burned bigger than before and he stated flying like a comet at the sphere. Light used his sonic speed to go after the sphere as well. In terms of speed, Light was the faster and was going to get the sphere.

Joel saw this with narrowed and dark eyes and muttered under his breath, "Oh no you don't! I'm not going to allow all of my planning to be ruined. This time, vengeance is mine!" Everyone around the bubble were watching the scene too intensely to notice Joel make some strange movements with his hand.

Inside the bubble, Light was almost at the rainbow sphere when a section of the platform floor came to like as a tendril which caught him by the ankle. And in that instant, Light's victory was taken from him. Fox's fiery body rammed the sphere, smashing it, but filling the orange vulpine with overflowing power. One word resounded in his head so much that Fox had to yell it out. "LANDMASTER!" NAT, Chris, and Alex had been watching and supporting Light from the sidelines of this fight but as soon as they heard Fox cry out that word, they knew what was coming next and felt a chill in their spines.

Krystal finished with here preparations and did not hesitate in firing up the machine…, but it didn't work. "What?" Krystal stared at the dead machine in disbelief. "Why is it not working?" Krystal turned back to the bubble, her body frozen in place. Her eyes dilated in terror.

As soon as Light saw that Arwing-lookalike of a tank fall from the sky, he knew it was over. He was already struggling to free himself from his shackle, and he didn't have the strength to make an assault against the tank. Once the Landmaster landed… it took aim. Everything around Light seemed to move slower. While the tank's cannon charged for a final assault, Light just stared at it, not thinking about what was coming, but what his life had been like.

The moment he first met Krystal.

Their first big adventure together.

Their marriage.

Their honeymoon.

The birth of their children.

And now… this.

Tears began to fall from Light's eyes as he fell to the ground on his knees. "I'm sorry Krystal, for not being what you wanted me to be. I'm sorry for not being the one you truly love."

Krystal shook her head to rid the thought from her head. "No, you're wrong." Then the charged blast was fired. As it raged across the battle field, Light screamed out in declaration, "I know you may not love me anymore Krystal, but, I LOVE YOU!" The deadly light engulfed Light, who had no choice but to embrace it. Then the dimension bubble burst.

At that moment, Krystal's heart breaking scream pierced the souls of the cold night. "LLLLLLIIIIIGGGGHHHTT!"

**End of Arc-1**


	19. Endless Sorrow

**Author's Note: Well, after spending a month being inactive, you can now mark me as active. I know I said I'd be back in two weeks, but in the end I decided to stick with what I said at the beginning of this story and took pretty much the whole month off. With this chapter comes the beginning of a new school year a new story arc. This chapter ended up being bigger than I originally planned, but the next two not so much probably. Who knows, I might surprise myself. Be sure to READ & REVIEW, everybody! Feedback is always appreciated. Enjoy the the next arc of the story, everyone!**

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Arc-2: A World with No Light**

**Chapter 18**

**Endless Sorrow**

Once the devastating light had passed, the pocket dimension evaporated on its own. Fox stood in the now vacant area surrounded by onlookers, and it seemed a certain shine that was missing from his eyes had come back. Across from Fox, Light's body fell to grassy ground with an ominous thud. Light was in his normal form, lying on the bed of green. Fox's confusion as to what just happened was deafening.

Krystal was helpless to watch as Light's body fell to the ground. The surrounding crowd was absolutely silent. No one said a word as Krystal cautiously approached her husband. Alex, Chris, Nat, Allistor, Lindsey, Light's parents, the Starfox team, and the royal court quietly prayed that this wasn't what it looked it. Krystal reached Light and shakily examined him. The body itself was okay for the most part. It looked like all of wounds he sustained in the battle were gone. She let her eyes drift over to Fox's leg, where Light had shot an ice shard into orange vulpine's thigh. That wound was gone as well. Then she put two fingers together and pressed them against his neck… She couldn't find a heart beat. Her eyes slowly began to water.

Dawn had walked up to her now trembling mother, staring in paralyzing fear at what might be. Tears filled her innocent little eyes. "Momma," she squeaked through the choking sobs. "What happened to Daddy? He's gonna be okay, isn't he Momma?" The distraught girl pulled and tugged at Krystal's hand, begging Krystal to tell her that this wasn't happening. "Please Momma! Tell me it isn't true! DADDY!" Dawn collapsed into a rack of sobbing. Krystal got down, holding her daughter close to her. They both sank Light's body and were openly crying.

Fox had been watching intensely at the scene hoping against hope that Light wasn't… It looked like it was though. "No," he whispered to himself. This wasn't what he wanted. He didn't want to really fight with Light. It was like something had grabbed hold of his desires, twisted them, and, not just nudge, but pushed him in the direction it wanted him to.

Dusk couldn't find the will to move his legs forward. He quaked in the knees. He didn't know what to do, what to say, or what to think. Markus's voice cut through the silence. 'I-I'm sorry, Dusk. I wasn't expecting…'

'SHUT UP, SHUT UP! Just shut up! You wanted Dad to be out of our lives, right? Well, you got your wish,' Dusk replied coldly to his counterpart. Markus didn't make an attempt to say anything more. He merely retreated into the deep recesses of Dusk's mind.

Fox tried to step forward to get a better look at Light's lifeless body. "Krystal, I'm so… I didn't mean…," he stuttered, but stopped when he heard a murmur come from Krystal, with her face buried in Light's chest. "What did you say again," he said taking another step forward.

Krystal rose up her head sharply when she heard the step and snarled at Fox. "MURDERER!" Fox widened his eyes at her accusation and instantly stepped back from the feral eyed Krystal. "STAY BACK! DON'T COME NEAR US! HAVEN'T YOU DONE ENOUGH ALREADY!" she shouted through her tears and anger.

"Krystal…, I-I don't know what to say." It was at that moment Fox finally realized that there had been a crowd watching and staring at him with shunning eyes. Fox turned to his team to try and find some reassurance, but he only found pity. Slippy averted his eyes away from his long time friend, wishing he could help, but not knowing how. Falco had closed his eyes and dipped his face to the ground while shaking his head slowly, as if to say sorry to Fox. "No! I'm so sorry!" Fox had fallen to his knees and started crying as well, for both himself and the fallen Light. "I did it, but I didn't do it. I wasn't myself! You've got to believe me!" Fox was beyond scared at this point.

"What do you want me to believe?" The blue-furred princess broke out into another wave of sobs as she softly stroked the cheeks of her fallen love. "Ever since you arrived, I've caused my husband nothing but pain and heartache. And now this!"

"Please give me a chance to explain!"

"JUST STOP IT! You've caused my family enough pain, so just go away!" Fox was taken aback by this. He felt nothing but sorrow and guilt from the bottom of his heart, but he didn't know what he could say to convince her. Or himself, for that matter.

In the midst of this silent confrontation, what broke the silence was a mad, dark cackle that had all eyes shifting to Krystal's young assistant. Although normally quiet, he was laughing like a madman, with an equally insane face to match. "That worked out far better than I had hoped!"

Krystal looked at Joel like he was crazy. Maybe he was. "Joel! What are you doing?" Joel just continued to laugh crazily, leaving the crowd confused and frightened more so than they already were. "What's gotten into you?" she uttered as she clutched Light's cold hands.

Slowly, Joel's deranged laughter died down and his face was pointed at the floor with his long, messy raven hair covering his entire face. "Oh, nothing has gotten into ME. Joel, however…, is another case entirely." Krystal's lunatic assistant raised his face to meet Krystal eye to eye. Red! Instead of his normal eye color, what Krystal saw was two red eyes! Krystal felt her whole being quake to its very core. She wasn't the only one either. Anyone who knew the stories or was there to witness the events that came to mind knew who those eyes belonged to.

"No," she whispered to herself. "It can't be," she kept whispering to herself, trying to wish this whole nightmare away.

"Hah, ha, ha, ha. But it is." In a bright purple glow, Joel's body fell to the ground unconscious, leaving standing in his place a being that seemed to have shed the young assistant like snake skin. The newly revealed being wore dark violet silk clothing from top to bottom, with a golden-sectioned belt stretched across his waist as a center piece. His hands were covered by black gloves, made with metal tips to give the impression of jagged claws. His dark boots, planted firmly on the ground, shined in the dark side of the moon light. His shoulders bore the weight of black, tri-spiked pauldrons' that hung his tattered, night sky cape, split down the middle of his back into two triangular capes. And finally, his spiked, raven hair that seemed to go every which way framed his malicious and evil expression.

Krystal jumped up to her feet and dashed after the smirking figure, fueled by her anger and sadness. "BLITZKRIEG!" She jumped at him and tried to sink her claws into his jugular, but she merely phased through his body. She painfully skidded along the grass from her failed head-long assault and turned back to face her old foe. He hadn't even budged from his position to dodge her attack, so he knew she would go right through him.

He nonchalantly turned the side of his face around to look into her surprised face. "How long has it been? Ten years? Yes, that seems about right." Nat, Chris, and Alex couldn't just stand there any longer. They ran at the monster and tried to punch and kick him, but nothing they tried worked. Each blow just harmlessly passed through his body. "How rude," he replied simply. The three tiredly stopped their attack and reluctantly watched their old enemy calmly walk away and approach Krystal with a dark grin. He looked in the corner of his eyes at Light's prone form with a sick smile. "How do you like the fruit of my labor?"

Krystal sneered at him with hatred. "So, you were the one behind this all along? But how? We killed you all those years ago!" Krystal didn't know how much more she could possibly take.

Their old adversary wagged a finger at her. "Tsk, tsk." He smiled before answering her. "You did kill me, but Krieg's Dimension sword saved me from dying completely. When it shattered, not only was my life spared, but I was also reborn and transported to a different dimension. Over the last ten years, I have been passing through world after world, plotting my vengeance and aspiring to reach my ultimate goal. I soon settled on a deserted world and started living there while watching your family from my castle, but I still had my sights set on this universe. There was one problem though."

Krystal's eyes narrowed, "You couldn't pass into this world, could you?"

He stared hard at her and tuned to his arm, which was beginning to slowly fade away. "No, I couldn't. Seeing as how I did technically die in this universe, I couldn't crossover. Not without a host, at least."

"Joel," she breathed out as she began to peace things together. Krystal turned her catatonic assistant and back Blitzkrieg. "But how did you…, wait a minute…"

He laughed menacingly at her. "That's right! That energy surge in your lab the other day and that arc of surging electricity. That was me. Your little techie made for the perfect host. We've shared minds for the past few days you know. He was an impressive intellect, and he tended to keep to himself. However, my power had diminished during the transfer, and what power I did have, I had to use up on building my dimension bubble. Building my device was a simple matter. All I had to do was purchase a certain disc with Joel's funds, finds the necessary parts to build it with, and use the bulk of my remaining power to make energy crystals to power it and hypnotize your friend there. It was getting your hu…" He paused for a moment before smirking evilly to himself. "Forgive me, your 'diseased' husband into the trap I had laid out."

Krystal felt her chest heave in pain and tears sting her eyes at the mere mention of what happened only moments ago. "SHUT UP!"

Blitzkrieg chuckled to himself. "Originally…," his eyes focused on Saber who was growling in pure hatred toward Blitzkrieg, but didn't know what he could do against an opponent he couldn't harm. "… I had planned on putting your dearest brother against Light. However, Fox over there made for an unexpectedly pleasant surprise." Fox had been on his knees throughout the entire exchange. He could hear what was being said, but felt so horrible and useless that he just couldn't move from where he was. Hearing this additional information though, made him feel like a complete fool. "But, what sweetened this victory for me… was you. Your rejection and betrayal of Light and his love inflicted more pain and suffering to him, than I could in a thousand years."

"SHUT UP!" she yelled again. Krystal's scowl deepened, but she refused to look him in the eyes. He was right. She was the one truly at fault here. If she hadn't let those ghost memories manipulate her thoughts and feelings, Light wouldn't have died the way he had. But she wasn't the only one to blame…, Fox was the one who fully gave in to the memories. He was the one who killed. As far as Krystal could determine, both Fox and Blitzkrieg were to blame. Deep down though, she knew she deserved just as much blame as them.

He started chuckling to himself. "With Light finally out of the way, I can now put all of my plans in motion. Soon, my armies will crossover and lay waste to Earth and Cerinia. Prepare well, because the final day is coming, and I want some prey that can actually put up a fight." He looked at his fading body once more before turning back to Krystal. "It looks like my time is up. Without a host, I know no longer have an anchor to keep me here. It's a shame, really. I was just beginning to enjoy myself too." He laughed at and taunted Krystal as he faded into the night.

The entire crowd was gripped with fear and they didn't know how to react toward the new enemy they were now facing. Krystal picked herself up reluctantly and stumbled along to her husband's body, where her two frightened and heart broken children had gathered. She fell on her knees and dug her face into Light's lifeless body, crying her sorrows and despairs into his chest. "I'm so sorry," she cried out over and over. Her children did the same and wailed their pain into the night air, and they stayed like that for a while.

The crowd of Cerinians began to slowly disperse, no longer being able to watch the sad scene any further. Nat, Chris, and Alex gathered the unconscious Joel into their arms and started carrying him to their cabin. Light's parents started to withdraw as well. Tim had tears stinging his eyes, but tried to stay strong for his bawling wife. Sarah just didn't know what to do or say, she could only cry. Her only son… was gone. While being walked back by Tim, her knees buckled and she fell down crying harder than before. Tim picked her back up and led her to their cabin.

While Krystal and the kids cried, Cerinian soldiers started gathering around them. Krystal noticed them and sharpened her senses, trying to figure out what was happening now. Her father and mother walked up to her, tears flowing down her mother's face and a compassionate on her father's. "Krystal, step aside."

"Father, what are you doing?"

Her father knelt down on one knee and kissed his daughter's forehead. "We're going to prepare him for a Blue Pyre ceremony." Krystal's sat there shocked and wide eyed. The Blue Pyre ceremony was an extremely prestigious tradition on Cerinia. It was a funeral event reserved only for the highest of nobility and Cerinia's greatest warriors.

"But… Father! Why?" Randorn pulled his daughter into a hug, while Mira did the same for her grandchildren.

"Because, this battle showed me how much he truly loved you. I was so wrong about him."

"WE were so wrong about him," her mother reiterated. "He was the greatest and bravest son-in-law we could have hoped for. We were so blind… this is the least we could do to show how sorry we truly are." Krystal sat there in awe. Her parents finally accepted Light, though it was already too late. She was happy for that though. They were giving Light the highest honor they could bestow on him, and she really appreciated it.

"Thank you," she quietly sobbed. "This really means a lot to me." They pulled apart and the King's guards picked up Light's body and took him to the cryogenic chamber to freeze his body for the ceremony.

"Krystal, kids, we're going to have Sabre and the guards escort you back to your cabin. Please try to get some sleep for the evening. It's past midnight and we all need our rest." She and the kids weakly nodded but, before leaving, Krystal addressed Fox willing turning around to face him.

"Fox, listen, and listen good. I know this whole matter wasn't entirely your doing, but because of the hand you willingly had in this, don't you DARE come near me or my family again. If you do…" She turned around to let him see what was in her eyes. Where there was once the possibility of love in her eyes, was replaced by pure hatred. "… I'll kill you." Fox felt the weight and pain of her words sink in and stab his heart like a heated dagger. With that explicitly said, she and the children allowed Sabre and the guards to walk them back to their broken home.

Once they had left, Fox was alone on his knees with Krystal's parents as only accompany. Fox looked to them a pleading face. Krystal's father only sighed at the sight of the orange vulpine and left with Mira, without a single word. Now Fox sat there, broken and abandoned.

Elsewhere, on a mostly deserted world, a dark, jagged castle stood towering the red landscape like a spire, and its master had just returned. Blitzkrieg waltzed into the gothic throne room, admiring the dark and malevolent décor. He had designed the castle's interior himself to match the blackness of his soul. Floating at the top floor of the castle was a rotating black crystal made from Blitzkrieg's own concentrated evil. It was the main source of power for everything within and around his castle.

Then Blitzkrieg laid his red eyes on his black throne with silver lining. Along with having screaming skulls attached to the front of the arm rests, there were two tall violet crystals jutting out of the ground from either side of the throne's main headboard. He sat down on his thrown, relishing the feeling of power and authority it provided for his ego.

Blitzkrieg stretched out his hand and a black staff materialized straight from the ground. The top was decorated by a dark blue sphere entangled by black serrated, vine-like tendrils. He sighed in satisfaction of all that he had accomplished. "It feels good to be back."

"I'm glad you feel that way after recklessly traversing through that dimension," said an annoying deep voice near the court room's entrance. Blitzkrieg turned to the one who that voice belonged to and retorted.

"Tell me, between the two us, which us have experienced the sweet taste of revenge?" The figure in the doorway growled and clenched his fist hard. "That's right, me. I've just dealt a devastating blow to my enemies. And I showed Krystal and Starfox the face of utter defeat. Have you ever been able to do the same…, Andross?" Blitzkrieg watched the telekinetic ape's expression change from stoic to anger.

Andross grounded his teeth in aggravation. "I'll have you know that the mere mention of my name struck terror into the hearts of the people of Lylat."

"Oh, is that so?" Blitzkrieg replied in mock appreciation. "If they feared you that much, then just wait until they meet me." His smile was that of a calculating mad man.

Andross's anger flared at the sight of the disrespectful grin. "Don't you dare belittle me? My power is not to be trifled with!" Andross shot his palms forward and arcs of electricity flew across the room at their target sitting on his throne.

Blitzkrieg extended his staff toward the lighting coming his way and the electricity was absorbed by the sphere. A moment later, a black bolt of zigzagging energy crashed into Andross's chest, throwing the ape across the room and slamming him into the castle wall. Cracks in the wall were an immediate result of the exchange. Andross's pain stricken body slide down the wall and forced him to rest on the floor with his back to the wall. "And mine is not to be tested." He wiggled the fingers on his free hand musingly, "Aww, the feeling of having all of my powers back." He turned back to Andross. "Just remember who it was that brought you back to life from your universe. Do that, and know in your place, and I will hand you the Lylat system personally, for you to rule under me." Andross growled at him, but stayed his voice.

"And what does my team and I get?" Blitzkrieg and Andross looked over at the entrance and saw Wolf O'Donnell leaning on the wall with his arms crossed. "You brought us to this universe a week ago and it's about time we knew the details of your hiring us."

The castle's master chuckled to himself as he stood up from his throne. "I suppose your right. The job I'm hiring you for is a simple one really. You are to be one of the two generals of my mechanized army, along with our ape friend here, and if you encounter Starfox or anyone belonging to the Great Fox or the starship Solomon, kill them. I'll pay you extra if they suffer horribly. And speaking of payment, I will give you any world you may want along with gold and riches the likes of which you've never seen. I'll even give you your very own a harem if the flesh of women is what you so desire." Wolf was floored. If this guy was able to provide all that and more, he would have been a fool to refuse. Plus, he would rather like to not end up like his former contractor.

"Deal!"

"Good," Blitzkrieg returned his attention the ape. "Pick yourself up." Andross reluctantly did as he was told and held a hand to his chest to put pressure on the pain was feeling. "Now follow me, we've got planning to do."

Back on Cerinia, Sabre had escorted Krystal and the kids to their cabin and opened the door for him. "Kids, can you please go to your rooms?" They nodded and slowly trudged to their rooms and Krystal turned to Sabre when they were gone. She let her head fall onto his and cried for the umpteenth time.

He wrapped his arms around his sister's shoulders and held her to comfort her. "I'm so sorry Krystal. I wish there was something I could do? I wish I could've been able to go back to the past and treated him the way I ought have. I lost a great brother today." He sighed in sadness.

"And I feel like I'm the one responsible for his death."

He held her tighter for his own comfort as well as hers as guilt of what he and Krystal's parents had helped to unknowingly contribute to. "We all are responsible." They pulled apart and Sabre started closing behind as he left. "Get some rest; we have a busy day tomorrow." She nodded tiredly as her response. The door fully closed and Krystal started walking raggedly to her room.

On the way there, Krystal stepped on something small in front of the kitchen. She looked down and her eyes widened in sorrow and pain. She picked it up and held it gently like it was fragile. It was Light's wedding band. Further proof of the betrayal of her many vows to Light. She held it closely to her bosom and resumed her journey to the master bedroom. Once she was inside, Krystal maneuvered over to the bed and fell forward into her pillow. Her arm absentmindedly moved over to Light's side of the bed, but there was no Light. This was what it was like to be deprived of the one you loved most. To be alone in a cold bed without the warmth of a loving body close to her.

A few seconds later, the door opened and the twins came inside. "We couldn't sleep," Dawn replied in her sobs. Krystal smiled weakly at then and nodded.

"Come here." Her and Light's children went up to the bed and got in. They held each other as they sorrowfully mourned in the darkness until sleep overtook them.


	20. Krystal Needs a Light

**Author's Note****: Sorry for being late on this. I was bombarded with homework. Don't worry though, that won't be happening often and I am not going back on a every other week schedule. I will be updating every week, if able, and to make it up to you guys there will be another chapter this weekend. This chapter was a little shorter, but the next chapter will probably also be shorter than this. And it looks like we've almost reached the 100 review mark. I wonder who's going to give it? Thank you everyone for the feedback and being patient with me. Remember to READ & REVIEW. Enjoy the chapter, guys.**

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Chapter 19**

**Krystal Needs a Light**

By the time the morning sun had risen, the Solomon had already made dock with the palace hanger. Although it was light out, with not a single cloud in the sky, an invisible, sullen cloud had blanketed over those on the surface. The funeral proceedings were scheduled for three in the afternoon and no one was looking forward to it. Nobody wanted to say goodbye to the young husband and father. This whole mess had seemed to be a tragedy without a silver lining to soften or dull the pain.

Allistor walked through the halls of the Solomon until he reached the Captain's private quarters. He got a message from the Captain, just an hour earlier, saying he wanted to talk about the events prior to sun up. Allistor softly knocked on the door, not really possessing the mood or the strength to knock firmly with confidence like he used to. He heard a muffled 'Come in,' and opened the door to walk in and closed it behind him.

Allistor found the Captain sitting at his table with his elbows propped up on the oak wood plane and his hands together. His eyes were downcast and focused, not on the desk, but out into the abyss of space. Allistor walked and stood before him, "You wanted to see me, sir?"

For a long moment, the Captain didn't say or do anything. "… Is it true about what I heard?" he quietly asked. "Is Light truly dead?"

Allistor didn't want to answer this question. He had spent most of the morning trying to convince himself that it didn't happen and consoling Lindsey, but he answered out of respect. "… Yes… It's true. Blitzkrieg mesmerized Fox into killing Light"

Leonidas sighed, both in sadness of what has happened in recent events and of the news he had to share. "This is not only a tragedy, but also a worst case scenario."

"What do you mean, sir?"

"Morgonna revealed to me a large amount of information to help us against the Void. Light was essential to this mission, not to mention invaluable. Without Excalibur's master, we have no way of combating Malxifel and the Void. We have the armor's location but, without Light, we can't use it. Even if Light was still with us, it would have ended in a tragedy anyway."

"What that supposed to mean?"

For the first time since that conversation started, Leonidas lifted his face and locked eyes with Allistor. "Morganna purposely withheld information from us."

"What? What didn't she tell us?" Allistor couldn't help being angry. He just lost his only nephew and now there was more bad news! This whole mission up until where they were was a glorified nightmare. It was like a downward spiral with no end in sight.

"Calm down, Allistor. I honestly can't blame Morganna for not telling us this bit of info until the proper time or place. It would have broken everyone's heart and, unfortunately, it was the best case scenario. The Atlantians called the one who dons the armor the Forlorn Knight."

Allistor's eyes widened in disbelief. "You can't mean that…"

"I do. The armor sucks the life out of whoever uses it and uses it as a power source. And Light was the only one of us able to use it. We know where the armor is and we are able to retrieve it, but we wouldn't be able to use it. Our people in the R&D department are doing the best they can to come up with an alternative solution, but things are looking pretty grim at the moment." Allistor was floored by all of this. He didn't know if things could get any worse. Excalibur had already rejected everyone else but, then again, Allistor didn't want anyone to sacrifice themselves for the rest of them. There had to be another way.

"Was there anything else you wanted me for, sir?"

"No, not at the moment. I just needed you let you know what we've found out in case you came about something that might help us. I'd also appreciate it if you'd keep this information to yourself as well."

"I will."

"Then you may dismiss yourself. I'll see you later at the funeral." Allistor nodded and left the room angrier and more upset than before. Morganna wasn't the only one withholding information. Leonidas had thought about revealing one more thing, but decided against the thought. The outrage that could have resulted from revealing that Light was the Emissary of the Void could have been disastrous, if known. Too many people were already mad, sad, and on edge as it were.

Back at the cabins, the Starfox team was getting ready for Light's funeral. Peppy, who had gotten off the Solomon earlier, had brought some formal tuxes to suit their sizes and shapes from the Great Fox. The only person in that cabin who wasn't ready had locked themselves inside their room. Fox sat on his bed with his legs pulled up close to his body and his face buried into them. All he ever wanted to do in life was the right thing, but in the end he did the one thing he had promised himself not to do. He murdered an innocent man, and over a woman at that. You could have chalked it all up to being Blitzkrieg's handy work, but Fox knew in his heart that he had willingly allowed the fiend's influence to overtake his body and mind. His tears had stained and soaked his pants as he sobbed to himself.

To think someone like him could fall so easily in such a way. Andross, the Aparoids, and the Anglers. Clearly none of them were close to the kind of destruction Blitzkrieg could cause. That monster was more powerful and even cleverer than all of them combined.

Fox then heard a knock on his door, but he didn't change his position. Outside, knocking on his door was Peppy with Falco and Slippy behind him. "Fox, we're going to the funeral. If you decide to come, your tux is sitting on the kitchen table." There was a silent pause before the hare sighed and continued. "…Listen to me, Fox. I don't know if I have the right words for this kind of situation. I just don't know what I can say to help. What happened between you and Light was tragic, but we can't let it take control of us. It's already happened to you once, just make sure to not let it happen a second time and do something drastic again. I am disappointed in you and sad about the whole tragedy. But, now more than ever, you need to stand on your feet and try to prevent any more tragedies like this from happening again." Peppy thought about saying more, but there really wasn't any more to say. The hare then made his silent descent down the stairs with Slippy somberly following.

Falco stayed put where he was in front of Fox's door and put a feathered palm up against it. He sighed and said softly with his head hung, "I hope I see you there, buddy." Then Falco left the cabin to join with the others.

Very soon, almost too soon for some, the funeral started. It was being held inside the palace ball room, which was built from white marble for the walls and was aligned with gold trimmings. The carpets of the room were made of blue silk. A multitude of tables were set up with the biggest banquet anyone had ever seen on the outside rows from the guest tables. Not only was there the royals and Light's family and friends, but there were also many Cerinian citizens walking about and seating themselves. At the head of the funeral was Light, lying in a white casket bedded with blue rose buds. His body was still covered in the torn garbs from his battle with Fox. The Cerinians never changed the clothes warriors had died in battle with as a sign of respect. His body was also cryogenically frozen to preserve it.

Krystal and the children were sitting with Tim and a still sobbing Sarah. The kids weren't faring much better either than their grandmother. Tim kept his eyes dry to stay strong for his wife, but he was weeping in pain on the inside. Krystal wasn't crying or sobbing anymore but the tears just wouldn't stop falling from her eyes. She kept looking at Light and only at Light. She kept saying 'I'm so sorry,' over and over again in her mind, knowing it would do no good.

Light's friends were seated next to them, grieving and mourning in their own way. All three of them were more than sad, they were angry at everything. Especially Fox. Granted, it wasn't really the orange vulpine's fault, but they wanted someone to blame. Blitzkrieg wasn't in their proximity, preferably with their hands around his neck, so Fox was the target of their critical feelings. Sitting with them were Allistor, Lindsey, and Leonidas, who were dreading about what was to come in the future.

Brandon stood on one side of the entrance to the room, while the two usual gate guards stood across from him on the other side. He kept staring out into space so he could think in peace to himself as he did his job. He was actually still getting over the shock that Light had died. The entire situation was just saddening.

The room filled with a mass of people quieted down as King Randorn approached the front. All eyes fell on him as he started his eulogy. "Everyone. Friends, Family, we came here tonight to pay final respects to this… noble warrior. Light Kindley, was not only a good person, but also a wonderful husband to my daughter and grand children. He was also an excellent son-in-law… I was just too blind to that. I didn't approve of him and didn't think he was a suitable for Krystal. I was wrong. Never in my life, have I been more wrong. The only thing I wish I could say is 'I'm sorry,' but it looks like I won't get the chance. I just hope that I'll be able to thank him properly for all he's done for us… that is if the future will allow. Thank you everyone, for coming."

Randorn stepped off to the side with Mira and nodded for Krystal to stand. She reluctantly did so and was handed a single white rose. She stepped into the pathway and slowly walked towards her deceased husband.

This was the saddest and most ruining part for Krystal. It meant she was really saying goodbye forever to the one she truly loved. It was a hypnotic and painful scene to watch for all those present. She reached Light and laid the rose over his heart. As she looked at his face, her sadness had finally overwhelmed her. She let her head fall and dig itself into his countenance. She cried harder than ever before as she rubbed her blue and white furred cheeks against his pale ones. She just wanted more than anything for this whole thing to be just one horrible nightmare, but it was the harsh reality. She was unhesitant to kiss his cold lips, fishing for the warmth of life. But of course, there wasn't one. She wanted nothing more than to hear his heartbeat once more. Krystal pulled away and took out Light's wedding band from her pocket. She slipped it onto his ring finger and kissed his forehead. Before moving away from him, she whispered, "I love you, Light. And I'll always love ONLY you. You are my light, and I need you. We all do." With one more fleeting kiss to his lips, she backed away and walked to her table with fresh tears forming in her eyes.

By this point, there was not a single dry eye in the room.

Outside the room, just as Krystal was sitting down to let everyone else give their own eulogies, Fox was leaning up against the wall that surrounded the entrance. He didn't go inside, but he did stand outside the entrance, away from prying eyes, to hear everyone's tribute speech. Just like everyone else, tears ran down his face but he stayed silent. He believed it was best that he stayed quiet where he was. 'He didn't deserve to go inside where all of the others were,' Fox thought to himself. Unbeknownst to him, Falco managed to catch a glimpse of his friend and smiled to himself.

The speeches lasted for a long time. Once the eulogies had finished, the feasting began. Krystal and the kids didn't have it in them to eat any of it, so they got up and left to go home back to their cabin. Krystal decided it was for the best to wait there and return later at midnight for the burning. They just needed to spend some time to themselves. Fox was already gone by this point.

Krystal arrived to the cabin and let go of the kids' hands and looked to them. "Go on, kids. Go play." The children nodded and unhurriedly made their way to their room. Krystal walked into the kitchen and made some coffee for herself. She sat down at the coffee table and sipped at the drink. Just then, another wave of sadness washed over the new widow and her head collapsed again as she was wracked with another bout of sobs. She just didn't know how she could continue on without Light. It didn't feel right to sleep or even lay in a bed without him next to her. Holding her. Keeper her safe within his arms. And Loving her.

Krystal wasn't sure how much time had past since they left, so she turned her head to the clock. There was a little over an hour until the pyre burning. She sighed to herself, realizing just how much exhaustion Light's death was causing them.

Her reverie was broken when the kids broke her reverie. Krystal jumped a bit at being caught off guard and sighed in relief that it was only her kids. "I'm sorry. Your mother has been having a hard day today. I can't imagine it's much better for you two either. So, what was it you needed me for?"

Dusk looked over at Dawn and nodded her on. Dawn walked out in front of her brother and started, "Well, you see, we've been thinking. And we think we know a way to get Daddy back."

In spite of the painful topic, Krystal needed a good dose of positive thinking to help her. She graced them with a humoring smile, "Oh, really." She chuckled a little at the thought and appreciated their innocent attempts at doing something as wild as that. "What did you come up with?"

This time it was dusk that stepped out and held out his portable game system. "We could bring him back to life, just like in Final Fantasy and other games." Krystal giggled some more at the thought. To any mother, hearing something like this was charming and heart warming. Such thoughts were naïve, but comforting from the mouth of children. However…, the more she thought about it, the more she realized that… it might be possible. Her eyes widened as she thought this out. She can use the Azure-Light to open portals to other worlds and she can use her satellite transporters to help guide them in. Sure, she would have to modify the satellites to be operated portably and have someone learn how to use to operate the Azure-Light…, but it seemed possible!

For the first time in that twenty-four hour window, she had hope. She leapt out of her chair and bombarded the two kids with hugs and kisses. "You two are geniuses!" The kids were a little confused, but they were glad just to be able to raise their mother's spirit with their idea. Krystal let go of the two kids and dashed over to her bag and retrieved her cell phone.

A little while later, one word made itself vocally known from Allistor's mouth. "What?" Allistor walked over as soon as Krystal called. Krystal had said she wanted to talk about Light, so he assumed she wanted some counseling. That would have been perfectly understandable. What the vulpine beauty was suggesting was just crazy. "Krystal, do you have any idea what you're saying?"

"I do. Just hear me out. Light has been working on a video game for his company for a while now, and an RPG at that."

"So…"

"So, if I can rig my satellites and show you how to work the machine…" She glanced at Allistor's questioning expression at the thought of him working her machine. "Don't worry; I'll have already done the majority of the work by the time I hand the controls over to you. Anyway, that game Light was working on has only one town programmed into it, last time I checked. And in that town is an item shop with medicine to bring the dead back to life. Light also said he hadn't had time to program any monsters, so going inside that world and coming back will be like taking a walk through the park."

Allistor couldn't find any visible flaws in her plan, so he nodded reluctantly. "I guess your right. And we really do need Light. Having him with us is the only sure way to defeat the Void."

"So…"

"…Alright, I'm in. Just give me a few pointers on the machine, and do what you can to bring our boy back to us."

Krystal was pleased with this. "Alright, as soon I get the machine set up, we'll get Light back and… Wait a minute." Krystal just then realized something she should have known from the beginning. "Oh no. Light!" She made a run for the door, not stopping to tell Allistor where she was off too in such a hurry.

Allistor was stunned that she had just done that all of a sudden, but then it hit him as well. He turned to the clock and noticed that there was only seven minutes before light's body was thrown into the blue flame.

Krystal sprinted almost harder than her legs would allow. This was a race against time she was not going to lose.

Five minutes.

The Cerinian princess reached the palace gates where some guards were standing. They saw her urgently coming and quickly moved to get out of the way. One of the guards wasn't quick enough however, and got shoved into the grass by Krystal's rampaging elbow as she flashed right by them to the pyre.

People all over the place were either pushed by her or they were jumping out of her way. Her determined face showed that nothing was going to stop her as she rocketed through the night air.

Two minutes.

It wasn't too much further away; she could see the giant plume of blue fire in the near distance. 'I don't care if I have to tear apart the entire space time continuum,' she thought to herself. 'I WILL get back my Light.'

Randorn had been waiting until the last minute of the ceremony for Krystal's arrival, but since she still hadn't arrived, he guessed it might have been too painful for her to watch. The king turned to his guards and nodded for them to throw the cryogenic casket into the fire. The four guards picked up the casket, much to the dismay of friends and family who watched.

"SSSSTTTOOOPP!" All movement around the fire stopped and all attention landed on Krystal, whose breath was clearly labored. "Don't burn that body! He can still be saved!"


	21. The Teams

**Author's Notes****: Two chapters in one week, not bad. It's FILLER TIME! It's been a while since I've done a real filler and I don't really like doing them, but it is necessary to progress the story to the next level. This is probably the shortest chapter in the whole story as well. Don't worry though. Krystal's story arc truly begins in the next chapter. **

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Chapter 20**

**The Teams**

While Krystal was doing the adjustments to her new and improved satellite teleport system in the Solomon's lab, everyone around had just been staring at her. Mostly in disbelief. Fox was hanging around the place as well, but from out of sight. It was morning and she had already explained her plan to everyone else after her little stunt at what was supposed to be Light's body burning. Thankfully, his body was back in cold storage, safe from harm. From what she told them, it did seem very possible, but they still didn't completely buy it. "Hey, Princess," Nat called out. "Are you absolutely certain that this will work?" That was the one question on everyone's mind.

"In theory, yes, I believe it'll work." Krystal laid down her tools and walked over to the other end of her work table and picked up Light's laptop. "Light was using this to make one of his games, as a pet project of his. So this will be the world we transport to. It'll be easy."

"We're still not sure about this," Alex repeated for Nat.

"I am," she simply stated.

An exasperated sigh resonated throughout the room. "So, who's going with you," Chris asked. Immediately, a shiver ran down Nat and Alex's spines. That was the one question they did NOT want to ask. They already knew the answer to it.

"You guys of course."

Alex spoke up for himself there. "Sorry, I'd love to go with you, but Allistor already asked me to go with him to get that armor Morganna mentioned before."

Krystal only looked at him for second before turning to Light's uncle. "Really? You never mentioned that to me."

Allistor shrugged his shoulders. "I know. I was upset at the time and completely forgot about telling you. I only just remembered this morning when I bumped into Alex on the way over here."

Krystal brushed off her surprise and looked pointedly back at Alex. "Well, looks like you're off the hook. But you two are still not off the hook."

Nat and Chris thought to themselves for a moment before conceding. "Fine, we'll go." Nat stated through a groan.

Chris was right behind him in saying, "We'll do this for Light."

"Alright," Krystal started. "Do I have any more volunteers to go with me?"

Krystal's brother stepped and pulled out his staff. "You can count on me." Even though Krystal had already stated that, in all likelihood, there was no danger to be had. She thought she could have done the job all on her own, but she wanted her and Light's friends to join her as well, like in the good old days. Krystal nodded to Sabre and smiled. That smile quickly twisted into a frown when a certain voice called out.

"I'll go." After spending a whole day hiding from everyone's accusing eyes, Fox showed himself with a new determined look about him. There were still a few hard looks focused on him, but he stood steadfast.

Krystal hissed angrily at the new presence in the room. "What are you doing here? I thought I told you to stay away from me?" Fox turned his eyes to the floor. There was just no way he could look into her eyes. They were too filled with hate for him. Still, he stood his ground and urged further on.

"For what I've done, I don't deserve to stand in the same room as you. I know that." Tears visibly fell from his face and he sobbed for a second. "But I want to make it up to you. I want to make it up to Light. Please, let me come with you and help. I know I might not be able to do much, but please… Let me have a chance to make things right. If you let me do this, I promise to stay out of your lives for as long as I live."

Krystal was stunned speechless at his sudden burst of confidence. She was about to scream out her 'no,' but she felt a hand lightly grasp her shoulder. Krystal turned slightly to see Lindsey at her side. "Please, let him go. I'm sick and tired of all of this hate. Please, just give him a chance. It wasn't entirely his fault, after all." Krystal didn't know what to say. Lindsey had been something of a surrogate mother to her from the very beginning. She respected the older woman like so, and that made it all the more harder to refuse Fox's request.

The vulpine princess's mental wall wore down and she sighed in defeat. "Very well." She then approached Fox and looked venomously into his now risen eyes. "Lets just get one thing straight though. You can come, but if you become a liability, I'll send you right back here. So do as I say and don't touch anything! Understand?" Fox nodded, still a little saddened at the treatment he had brought on himself, but at least he was given a second chance to right his wrongs. Although there were still some hard feelings in the room, most of everyone was proud to see that Krystal was trying to be a little more forgiving. "Alright, then in that case, go get your things and get ready."

"Right," Fox exclaimed as he ran out the door to the Great Fox to get his gear.

Once he was gone, Krystal turned to everyone else. "How does a test of my new portable teleporting system sound?"

"So that machine is already up and ready?" Peppy asked. Krystal nodded.

"Just follow me outside and well test it out real fast before we leave." Everyone followed her out of the ship and outside of the palace to a grassy knoll in front of the gates. Once in the clearing, Krystal turned around to the expecting party and started fiddling around with the gold trapezoid-shaped machine strapped to her wrist. "This shouldn't take me very long, so don't go anywhere." She pressed a few buttons and tuned back to everyone. "See you all in a few minutes." Then, in a blue flash, she was gone.

Krystal had arrived inside her home on Earth. The one she and her family was happily living in before this week of pain started. She felt more hurt in her heart, but not as much as before. The hope she had now had dulled the pain. Without wasting too much time, Krystal entered her and Light's bedroom and after staring longingly at it for only a few seconds, she broke away and went to their closet. She opened it and rummaged around for a short while. It didn't take very long before she finally found what she was looking for.

Her old staff. Krystal picked it up and examined it for the first time in many years. Even after all of this time, it still possessed it same sheen it used to. Sure, it was a little dusty, but it was in almost perfect condition. Krystal knew what she told the others about there not being any danger on this mission, but it didn't hurt to be prepared for the unexpected.

The memories it gave her put tears in her eyes. She quickly wiped them away and controlled herself. She wasn't going to cry again.

Krystal strapped the golden, magic staff to her back and started pressing buttons on her wrist teleported to go back to Cerinia. She left the house hoping that the next time she came back; it was with a whole family and not a broken one.

Krystal returned to the group on Cerinia, just as she said she would. They were surprised to see the weapon on her back after it had been in storage for a long time, but found that it truly did suit her. Well, the important thing was that the device on her wrist worked. It was amazing how talented she was with that kind of stuff.

With that successful test out of the way, Krystal and everyone walked back to the Solomon and along the way she waited up for Allistor to catch up to her so she could walk with him side by side. "So, did you get your reading in?"

The man nodded. "I've read through everything I could. I don't know if I can actually replace Joel, but I should be able to operate it decently enough."

"That's good. Speaking of Joel how is he?"

"I'm afraid we don't really know for sure. There's no telling when he'll be in that coma. Thankfully there was no permanent damage caused to his brain or body, so my guess is he'll come out of it any day now." Krystal nodded to show her understanding.

Everyone got back to Solomon and found Fox ready and waiting in Krystal's lab. The Cerinian princess walked up to the table behind him and picked up a back pack. She handed it to him without looking in his direction, but she kept any venom from being present in her voice. "Here. These are our rations for the trip, don't lose them." Fox took it and was glad she was at least trying to trust him again.

Krystal turned around and asked hers and Light's parents. "Will you mind watching over the kids while I'm gone?"

They shook their head. "They'll be safe with us," Mira assured her daughter.

"Then in that case, Allistor, fire up the Azure-Light." Allistor did as he was told while Krystal started preparing her own device. She turned to Nat and Chris who still looked a little hesitant. "Come on, you guys. We won't be gone long and there is nothing to be worried about." 'At least I hope so,' she thought to herself. The two young men hesitated for a moment longer before joining her and Fox in front of the machine.

It didn't take too long for Allistor to get the machine up and running. He smiled in self-satisfaction. Sometimes he amazed even himself. The Azure-Light's familiar glow radiated from its tip and a portal, much like the one that helped Sabre cross over, opened above their heads.

Before anything else, Krystal's attention went back to Allistor to tell him one last thing. "Listen to me." She pointed a finger at a bright red on her teleporter. "We should be back in half a day or a day at the most, so you should start the portal back up at the times I specified in your notes. If we don't make it back by then, then either we missed getting to them in time or something had gone wrong. If something does go wrong or if it takes us more time than I thought to get the medicine, I'll press this button. It'll forcibly activate the Azure-Light by remote and we'll transport back here to this spot. However, it will fry my transporter's circuits." With that said, she and the others with her turned to all those watching them. "Well, wish us luck." And with the press of a button, she and the others disappeared through the portal.

"There they go," Brandon stated absentmindedly.

Leonidas then started moving to the bridge while saying, "And now we have to go plan our own venture. Come CO, we've got much to do."

"Sir," Brandon replied automatically and followed the captain.

Not long after, Randorn, Mira, Tim, and Sarah went to leave the ship and fulfill their promise to Krystal. The kids had been left with a Cerinian nanny to take care of them while the grownups took care of business.

Before Allistor could leave the lab, he heard someone walk up behind him. Allistor found that it was Peppy who was behind him. "What is it Peppy, do you need anything?"

"Yeah, there is. I need you to send me back to Corneria."

"Corneria? What for?"

"Its got something with what that Blitzkrieg guy said before. If he has an army, then we'll need one as well." Allistor realized what he was saying and nodded in complete agreement. There was too much at stake for them to not have any kind back of up. After all, Blitzkrieg wasn't one for making threats. He made promises.


	22. Recon for Hope

**Author's Note: Sorry it's been a while. Piled up homework for my classes. Since I missed last weeks update, I'll try to do two chapters one week later in the future. So I need to what for that opportunity to arise. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this week's chapter. Remember to READ & REVIEW. Have a good week everybody.

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**Chapter 21**

**Recon for Hope**

On the other side of the Azure-Light's portal, Krystal's team sat foot on the green grass of a cliff top. The rim of which, was littered with edged red boulders. The sky was darkened and gave off a gloomy feeling by the blanket of black clouds above. Alex took a breath of fresh air in the still developing world. It smelled normal, so that was a good sign. The landscape looked relatively normal, almost that of Earth and Cerinia, but the area looked absolutely desolate of life.

Krystal smiled to herself. They had managed to arrive to the world they had intended to get to. They were even close enough to see the town they were going to be heading towards from up the hill. "So this is the place, right?" Fox asked.

"It is," she replied. "We only need to go down the hill to the town there and look for the local pharmacy."

"Do you know where it is?" Chris inquired.

Krystal shook her head. "No, but in games like these, it's pretty typical for there to be some kind of sign on the building in question."

Nat felt the sudden urge to add his cynical two cents. "Yeah, assuming Bulby remembered to add the signs in the firs-!" Before he could finish speaking, he paused. Nat thought he heard a distant clanking noise coming from over the boulders on the cliff edge. "… Wait a minute." Nat cautiously walked over to the boulders, with Sabre silently following behind.

When the two popped their heads up slightly, they both stiffened. Krystal's curiosity was instantly piqued at their reactions. "What is it you two? What's wrong?" Her brother turned his head slightly to shush her.

His arm gestured for her to come see what they had spotted, but he added, "You need to see this, but be quiet." Krystal, fox, and Chris didn't understand what this was all about, but did as they were told. Once they reached the boulders and looked out across the valley, Krystal's eyes, as did the others who hadn't already seen it, widened in surprised terror.

Below them, sitting a good distance away within the crevice of the red valley but still too close for comfort was a massive army of black machine-like golems. The ranks and columns of them didn't seem to end; it was an ocean of marching death machines. Floating in midair above those mechanical giants were at least a couple dozen warships. Smaller black star shaped fighter crafts circled around the warships, docking and undocking at random intervals. Situated beyond the army and aerial armada was a dark building that resembled a castle-like spire. It was surrounded triangularly by three enormous pylon towers that offered a continuous stream of red electrical energy to the castle's tip where a black crystal floated stationary while rotating. "No! This just can't be real!"

"Do you think it's…," Nat began.

Chris continued for his friend in a grave tone. "It has to be. It's Blitzkrieg's army."

Sabre gritted his teeth and slammed his fist against the rock. "Was that demon expecting us?"

Krystal stood up and walked back where they had arrived earlier from the portal. "No, I don't think so." The others turned away from the menacing force below and looked to Krystal for an explanation. "I'm so naïve. Blitzkrieg had said that he had been watching us for the past few years, so that means he's been right here under our noses all along, hiding inside of Light's project. That's how he knew about the lab test and managed to crossover to take over Joel's mind."

The guys were silent for a moment before Fox suggested, "Krystal, I think we should leave and find another world to get that potion from or whatever. It's just not safe here anymore."

Krystal shook her head softly. "I can't. There's a cool down period on the teleporter, and I never factored in the possibility of something like this happening. We have to wait for that period to end. And the emergency system also needs the cool down to be finished so it can work. The mission is still on, let's go. If we just hide here and wait out the cool down, we'll only lose valuable time if we sit around and do nothing." She didn't even wait to hear the other's answer before moving her legs toward the town down the hill. The guys stood still and glanced at each other for a moment before following the princess. She was right. From the look of just the size of Blitzkrieg's army alone, there really wasn't much time left before that demon used the knowledge he stole from Joel's mind to create a dimensional portal of his own to unleash his invasion force.

Krystal's group stealthily sneaked their way to the edge of the ghost town. It took a little over an hour, but the five of them made sure to keep extra precaution and watched for any of those golems or star ships they saw earlier. They encountered nothing and walked through the town entrance. As they went through the gate however, no one notice the infrared trip wire waiting for them to cross.

Inside the spire, Blitzkrieg was looking over his newly made machine. It was still partially unfinished, but it wouldn't be a problem once enough time had passed for him to complete it. Andross and Starwolf stood behind him, observing the tyrant's machine. Blitzkrieg turned to them and flashed his vampire grin. Andross and Wolf didn't show any reaction toward the gesture but Leon, Panther and the recently reinstated Andrew, felt their souls leap in fright of their current employer. "What do you think? It's almost an exact replica of the Cerinian girl's, but superior in function…, or at least it will be. I call it the Blood-Light," he said, proud of himself for the mockery he made on Krystal's invention. Although, the name was entirely appropriate for its intended purpose.

"Will it work," Andross asked nonchalantly. Before Blitzkrieg could offer a biting retort for the ape's insulting question, one of his mechanical servants entered the room.

"Sire," the layered voice said with a salute. "Intruders have been detected in sector H-9."

That didn't set well with Blitzkrieg, seeing as how the planet was still a developing one with no kind of population on record. The only reason he even set those thousands of trip wires was to appease his paranoia. "Really? Describe them to me."

"The group consists of two human males, two male vulpines of different planetary origin, and one vulpine female. The female and one of the males are reported to be Cerinian." Blitzkrieg's fist tightened in extreme anger.

"How did they find me? Did they know I was here? No, they couldn't have. Then why would they be here, and with only so few peop-?" It hit him. The sector the machine-servant mentioned was the town closest to his castle. And if they were there, and still had Light's body stashed away somewhere, then that meant they were after… That was it! They were after the revive potion. "Gather a squad of Black Gears and a couple Dark Stars. I want the intruders eliminated, understood?" The servant bowed and left the room.

"What was all that about?" Wolf asked in his usual snub tone.

"It would seem our nemesis have found us out."

This caught Andross's interest. "You mean Fox is here?"

Blitzkrieg nodded. "Him, Sabre, Krystal, and a couple of their human friends as well. It looks like I'll have to step up my plans a little quicker than I anticipated. Oh well, it won't change anything in the end." Andross made a move to try to leave but Blitzkrieg stopped him from going any further and stared hard at the elderly ape. "And where do you think your going?"

"I'm going to take care of some unsettled business." Andross tried to leave again only to be forcibly pulled back by Blitzkrieg's black lightning whip, which formed from his hand, and dropped the ape at the tyrant's feet.

"Your little revenge is going to have to wait. I have another task that I want you to take care of personally. And it'll be the perfect chance to test out a bit of what this machine is capable of. Go now, and prepare."

Krystal and the others didn't really have to search too hard around the town. After about half an hour of investigating buildings, they eventually found the building with the item shop logo on it. The front door was unlocked, so they just let themselves in. Krystal ran out ahead of the others and leapt over the counter to hastily search for the revive potion. Nat and the others did the same but he voiced everyone's question. "So, what exactly are we looking for, Princess?"

"Look for a potion with a violet coloring and maybe a special or unique looking bottle." The five started grabbing, examining, and chucking bottles all over the place. Fox gave up looking through the cupboards and got down on the floor to see if there was anything below in the cracks. There was nothing so far, from what he could see. The vulpine got up off the floor and something above him caught his eye. He reached up to grab what was on top of the cupboards and took it. A large smile graced his face as he turned to the others.

"Krystal, look, I think I found something!" Fox said holding out the heart shaped bottle with a violet liquid. Krystal saw it and snatched it out of his hand to get a closer look.

"Yes! This is definitely it! Oh, thank you so much, Fox!" Krystal grabbed onto Fox to pull him into a hug. Fox felt proud of himself. Knowing Krystal was happy for his find was very gratifying to himself as well.

"That's good," Sabre exclaimed. "Now maybe we can get out of this place."

She nodded. "Allistor should be opening up a portal not too long from now. We just need to get back to the cliff top."

They nodded in understanding together and went to the entrance. Just before Chris's hand touched the door knob, he started hearing faint whistling sounds that seemed to have been getting louder by the second. It didn't take long for him to figure out what that sound was and where it was headed. "EVERYBODY, GET DOWN!" Chris yelled with earnest. They all ducked to the ground just as the front entrance, as well as the whole front wall, was blown to smithereens.

Everyone inside raised their heads from the wooden floor to see what tried to blow them away. Standing outside the item shop were six of the metal golems they spotted earlier with arm lasers pointed at them. Now that Krystal's team was close enough to get a better look at the metal goliaths, they noted certain details of their attacker's bodies. They stood at eleven, or at least ten feet tall. Their armor was a metallic black that smoothly shined in the light, but had silver patches in between the joints. That was a possible weakness. The machines' heads looked to be fitted with one red optic eye that seemed capable of dilating; probably so they could zoom in on their targets, just as they were doing right then. The way they held their arm blasters at them reminded Chris and Nat of the Megaman games and how the blue bomber would hold it himself. That thought didn't put them at ease.

One of them soon spoke in a mechanical voice. "You have been surrounded. Give yourselves up, or be destroyed." Krystal's team was in a pinch. And to make matters worse, that blast broke the teleporter's strap and sent it flying and skidding over to the other side of them. It was too far out of their reach. "You have one minute to decide," the machine taunted. Krystal growled in frustration, but then she remembered something. The Cerinian beauty could have called herself a glorified idiot, despite how smart and clever she really was. She still had her powers. It had been so many years since she had last used them, that it just hadn't crossed her mind…, until at that moment.

Fast as lighting, she grabbed her staff and swung it across the ground in an ark. A wall of blue flames shot up out of the ground and roaring with life, forcing the Gears to step back out of surprise and recalculate the situation. "RUN!" Krystal and the others sprang to their feet and all but Krystal jolted out the back to get away. Krystal had to run after her device first. The Gears didn't make things easy for her, as they were already blasting away at her. Red beams flashed by on her way to get the teleporter. None of the blasts hit their mark, but before Krystal could get the device, a shot hit it. Krystal snapped her hand back, but grabbed at the fried hardware right after and took it with her.

The flames had dissipated after she left the shop. "Capture them." The Gears walked through the building, tearing and flattening it as they did so. It was a scary show of their physical power. But they had lost their targets. Krystal and the others weren't hiding down the streets or in the alleys. The Gears had called for the two Dark Stars to hover above the town to expand the search and cover more ground, but that didn't work either.

Nat roamed the sky with his eyes and observed what was happening above them from where they were hiding. They were stuck in the sewer, concealed from their attackers. As soon as they got out of that item shop, the five of them dived right for the first sewer opening they found. The star-shaped ships overhead also had a single red optic on the underside's center. Orange crystalline hemispheres were topside on the center of every pointed arm. 'Those hemispheres are probably weapons,' Nat deduced. And just like the Gears, the stars were black. "Seriously, what's with this guy and black."

"I guess he likes clichés," Chris suggested for no particular reason.

"Perhaps," Nat replied. "Looks like we're safe, for now."

Sabre was sitting next to Nat's standing form with his back to the wall. "Give it some time. They will find us if we stay here too long."

Chris sat next to Sabre's other side. "Let's just hope Krystal can get us out of here before then."

Krystal couldn't really hear her team members. There were just too many things on her mind. They finally had what they were looking for, but now everything was going downhill. She was so close to getting Light back, she could feel it. Her tools ran through the damaged machine in frenzy. She and Fox sat together against the opposite wall of their friends. "So, what's the damage?" Fox asked to break Krystal out of her silence.

Krystal exhaled in frustration. "The damage is pretty extensive. It'll take me a couple hours to fix most of the damage to the hardware, but we have an even bigger problem on our hands. The calculations I had set beforehand were completely erased."

"Will you be able to reset them?"

She sighed. "I don't know. Without the proper equipment, it might take hours and a miracle for me just to set it close to where we need it to be. I'll do what I can, but let's just hope we don't get caught and manage to get to Allistor's portal. If I have to press the emergency release, chances are we'll end up in another universe entirely." At that moment, her hands stopped moving and she stiffened. No one understood why she stopped all of a sudden, but then she started to sob to herself.

Fox began to panic a little at Krystal's sudden change in mood. "Don't worry. I promise we'll find a way out of here and get home."

"It isn't just that," she said tears freely flowing. "Even if we manage to get home… Even if we manage to get Light back… What'll happen next? I'm sorry Fox, what happened to Light wasn't really your fault." The orange vulpine was surprised at this. Even after getting the potion, he didn't think he would ever be truly forgiven.

"What do you mean?" he asked, still in slight shock of Krystal's behavior.

"It was my fault. Everything that happened to Light was my fault. I didn't have to let those ghost memories influence my thinking, but I let them anyway. When he did what he had to do to save us, and changed into that monstrous form, I allowed doubt to invade my heart. In falling in love with you, I broke every vow I ever made to him. And unlike me, he kept his vows to me. He loved me more than anything, and just look at what I repaid him with." Her sobbing and crying increased as her lament continued. "He probably would have been better off not meeting me in the first place. After everything I did to him, he might not want to be with me anymore. And how could I blame him. But that's alright. I just want to say I'm sorry to him for everything." She paused once more before burying her face into knees. "Even if he rejects me, that's all I want to do. Tell him how sorry I am."

Fox couldn't stand it anymore. "You're wrong!" This time, it was Krystal's turn to be surprised at Fox's outburst. She looked him in the eyes and saw his resolution. "I've only known Light for a few days, but if there is anything certain, its this. That guy loved you. He loved you, the kids, and everyone. I was jealous and I hated him but, even so, he cared about me as much as any of his friends. I could tell from my battle with him. It spoke volumes about his character. I promise you Krystal, we'll get Light back and he'll love just as he did before. You'll see."

Despite the sadness in her heart, Krystal smiled and wiped away the tears from her face. The small bit of comfort helped to brighten her mood a bit. "Thank you. I really needed that reassurance. Alright then, back to work." And with newfound vigor she went back to fixing the teleporter.

Time passed by silently for them. The only sound being that of Krystal's tools doing their job. The slowly moving hours had been grating to Nat's nerves. He want to say something so badly, it could have been anything. Night was quickly approaching them. "Done," Krystal softly exclaimed. Her sudden announcement startled the others out of their own silence, but Nat's mouth was probably a little too loud.

"It's about time!" His hands instantly snapped to cover his mouth, but it was already too late.

"The intruders have been found!" a passing by layered voice from above called out. "They're hiding in the sewers! Have the Dark Stars ready a missile strike!"

"A missile strike?" Nat repeated, incredulous.

Sabre, looked to Krystal. "I'm sorry Krystal, but it looks like we'll have to do an emergency warp."

Krystal was beginning to panic. "But if we do that, who knows where we'll end up." Fox placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder and nodded.

"We have to."

Krystal could hear the whistling of the missiles coming. It was a hard decision, full of uncertainty, but she had to make it. "Alright, hang on everybody." The five companions grabbed onto each other and the Cerinian princess slammed her palm on the emergency warp button. They resonated out of existence just in the nick of time. The only questions to be answered however, was where would they end up, and how were they going to get back?

On Cerinia, night had fallen. The Solomon had also left the planet to go in search of the Forlorn Knight armor. At the palace, Dawn and Dusk were being tucked into bed by both sets of grandparents. "Good night, Dusk, Sweetie," Sarah cooed and kissed.

"Night Grandma," Dusk replied.

Mira did the same with Dawn. "Have sweet dreams."

"Okay Grandma."

Both grandfathers watched the display from the doorway adoringly. Sarah and Mira walked out of the kid's temporary bedroom and closed the door behind them. The four started walking their way down the hall to get to their sleeping quarters as well, conversing with each other happily. Life seemed a little brighter with the possibility of getting Light back, but the thought still brought a tear to Sarah's eyes. "Don't worry," Randorn asked of her. Both Tim and Sarah looked to the Cerinian king questioningly. "We promise your son will return. You know, I can no longer think of anyone more suited to be married with my daughter than him."

Sarah smiled and dried her eyes. "Thank you." Then they separated to go to their bedrooms for sleep.

Outside the palace, in the dark of night, a red portal opened up in the garden. Andross crossed through it and stepped on the very place Light died. Some guards walking by saw the scene and moved to point their staff ends at the elderly intruder. "Halt, reveal yourself," one of the guards ordered. Andross responded by stretching one palm outward and releasing an arc of electricity at them. The two guards were shocked out of consciousness, so Andross moved on to the palace without finishing them off.

Before anyone knew what was happening, the palace's back gate was blown through, leaving a cloud of dust and debris in its wake. The palace guards pulled out their blasters and started shooting blindly into the cloud. Their attacks were of no avail. Out of the dust came four rectangular white tiles, floating side by side vertically. One of the side panels detached itself and started to spin and shot itself at the guards. They were knocked out instantly.

Andross calmly walked through the halls of the palace with his panels blocking each attack that was thrown at him. The guards were just helpless against his attacks. The ape rounded the corner and met fierce resistance from a squad of Cerinians who were using magic fire walls to try and push him back. He laughed at their pitiful efforts to stop him. He shot all four panels at the guards, practically crushing them upon impact. The panels returned to their master after the attack and allowed him to continue on with his assault. He happened upon a large double door and stood still, using his psychic powers to locate his targets. 'Found them,' he thought with a smirk.

Dawn and Dusk were beyond frightened. They were only in bed for about ten minutes and right before they found peaceful slumber, numerous explosions shook them from the rest they desperately needed. They wondered what was happening, when their grandparents slammed through the bedroom door. The four looked as if they had ran a marathon and their breathing was labored. Mira ran to gather Dawn in her arms, just as Sarah retrieved Dusk.

"What's going on?" Dawn asked her grandmothers. "What are those loud noises?"

"We've got to go," Mira answered for the four of them. "Someone's attacking the palace and we need to get to a safe place." With the two kids holding onto their grandmothers, the six of them sprinted down the hall to get to a lower level of the castle. They didn't get far though. Before they could reach the stairwell, the wall blew to pieces. The adults flew backwards and landed on their behinds with the children tightening their grip around their grandmothers' necks.

Andross strolled through the hole he had just made and menacingly faced the six individuals before him. "If you all don't mind, I would like to get this matter done with as quickly as possible."

Tim stared down the ape venomously. "What do you want?"

"I'm afraid it's not my own desires that brought me here, it's what Blitzkrieg wants." Tim didn't know what Blitzkrieg was after, but he wasn't about to let him have his way. He charged at the ape, revving up his fist as he ran. "Humph." Andross pointed one finger at the man and zapped the human back the way he came. "Truly pathetic."

Randorn knew it may not be much, but he had to at least do something. The Cerinian king pulled the staff from behind his back and readied it. "Tell me if you think this is pathetic." Randorn slammed the bottom of his staff on the ground and two walls of blue fire streamed along the floor with Andross as the intended target. The streams came within a few feet of hitting their mark, but his four panels pulled together in time to block the raging inferno. As soon as the flames subsided, the panels separated enough for Andross to see his target.

"Amusing, but utterly useless."

The ape's eyes glowed red and crimson beam shot out of them. Randorn's reaction time kept him from receiving a lethal blow, but his left arm suffered the painful effects of the thin rays. The shock of the attack alone was enough to knock him unconscious, but not before he could turn to the Mira and Sarah and murmur a soft "Run."

The two women did as they were told and tried to get away, but were shocked in the backs by their cold attacker. The kids fell out of their arms and Andross stepped in between them. Dawn and Dusk clutched to each other as they both trembled at the invaders stare. Mira was unconscious, but Sarah's vision hadn't completely faded yet. She was awake long enough to watch Andross take one child in each of his arms and used his telekinesis to flew out of the palace. The twins screamed and cried for help and all Sarah could say before her sight left her was, "No. Please, leave them alone…" Then she fell into slumber.

Andross flew through the night air with the kids in his possession and right into a newly opened portal. Once they were on the other side, Andross sat his feet on the black marble surface and dropped the kids on the floor. Dawn and Dusk rubbed their bottoms from their rough landing, but stopped as a pair of black boots stepped in front of them.

Blitzkrieg towered over the petrified siblings. "Welcome…," he said flashing his vampire grin, fangs bared for them to see. "… to Hell."


	23. Fighting for the Forlorn

**Author's Note****: I am SOOOOOOO sorry for not updating recently. This chapter was almost a chore to do. Not because I didn't want to do it, but because I had so many other things to do (Like being forced to read Jane Austen's Persuasion from front to back). It was boring but I had to concentrate on that and not this. Another reason why it took me so long was my writing drive. We want to see what happened to Krystal, but unfortunately we'll have to wait another chapter for those answers to be revealed. Here you go guys. Its ten pages long and I hope you enjoy it. Remember to READ & REVIEW! **

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**Chapter 22**

**Fighting for the Forlorn**

When Krystal and her team left through the portal, Allistor went to take care of Peppy's request and sent him back to his world. Hopefully, whatever reinforcements Peppy was going to retrieve would be enough to help them all stand a chance against their enemies.

Not long afterward, it was time for the Solomon to depart Cerinia. All important members of the ship had gathered at the command bridge to see where their next destination was. Allistor walked up to stand next to the Captain and asked, "How long will it take us to reach Mt. Olympus?"

"Almost the whole day," The Captain responded unflinchingly. Allistor, as well as all others present, had dropped jaws.

"A whole day? But sir, we're only making a short jump to the mountain. Aren't we?"

"I felt it was better to let you cool off and reorganize your thoughts, so I didn't get to tell you everything before you left my office for the funeral." All eyes on the bridge were concentrated on the Captain. "The tallest mountain around the sun is not Mt. Olympus, but rather, Olympus Mons." Everyone's minds were boggled.

"You can't mean… We're going to MARS?" The Captain nodded.

"I know it hasn't really been tested, but the Solomon is well equipped and ready for space travel. However, since we're saving most of our warp energy for Krystal and her team's return, we'll have to travel using the Solomon's own speed capabilities to reach Olympus Mons. It's amazing really, that the Atlanteans had such a power to hide their treasures at so long a distance. Now we're charged with finding it, so we may have a chance to save our future when theirs was doomed. We mustn't let our loved ones down, everybody."

"Right, understood sir," Allistor went to sit down at his station next to Lindsey and the both of them went to work on their navigations. "We're setting the ship's coordinates now, Sir."

"Good. If all goes well, we'll have that armor in no time. Now, start up the Solomon's space travel functions."

"Starting up space travel functions, Captain," replied one of the bridge bunnies.

The Solomon undocked from Cerinian palace's docking port and was soon in the morning sky. The Solomon's thrusters awoke with a fury and the ship flew up through Cerinia's atmosphere. What met the whole crew when they left the planet's stratosphere was the beautiful blackness of space. Not a soul there had ever seen such beauty. Astronauts were lucky; they get to view such a vastness whenever they want. The blanket of stars around them, the glowing blue sphere they were leaving behind, and the vast ocean of space. Somehow, they all felt at home to this strange environment.

Lindsey broke hers eyes away from the view. "I'm activating the auto pilot."

The Captain nodded, "Status report, CO."

Brandon turned to the Captain and responded. "All system are green, Sir."

The Captain began to turn around and walk out. "Then I'll leave the rest to you, CO. I'll be resting in my quarters until we reach Mars."

Brandon saluted the exiting captain and started going about his duties. Allistor asked Lindsey if she could take care of the rest of the navigations for him. "Sure. I know you need to watch over the Azure-Light for Krystal. Just remember to tell them where we're heading when they get back."

"I'll be sure to do that." Allistor left the command bridge and walked down to the lab room. He went in and stared at the Azure-Light for a moment before setting himself down in a seat next to the machine. He looked at his wrist watch for the time and sighed. He suddenly felt drained of all energy. It looked like everything that has happened to them had taken a physical toll on his body and mind. It would be over an hour before it was time to reopen the portal.

When it was time to open the portal for Krystal and the guys, Allistor did what the Cerinian princess had told him to do, and opened the portal for them to come back from their venture. They didn't come back though. After ten minutes had passed, Allistor shut down the portal. 'That's okay,' Allistor told himself. 'This is to be expected.' Since Krystal and the others missed the first ride home, he would have to wait until the evening to reopen the portal.

Allistor looked around the lab room and noticed how empty it was. The only two people, who went into the lab room, if at all, were Krystal and Joel. A moment of solitary anger passed through Allistor's mind. He still couldn't believe Blitzkrieg snuck his way right under their noses. Allistor wondered what the demon was doing at that very moment, but he shook himself from his thoughts. There was no point in feeling regret anymore. He had to hope and believe that Krystal and her team would come through. This train of thought led him to another question. Even if Light was returned to them and they got the knight armor, how were they to save the young man from the armor's curse?

Sure they had P.O.U.R.'s R&D already working on a solution, but he didn't see anything viable coming out of it. A better way of dealing with this issue, Allistor started thinking, would be to get rid of the catalyst. If they can figure out why the Void is attacking as they are, and plug the hole they were coming out of, then they could keep Light from donning the armor entirely. Unfortunately, there really wasn't any time at all to take on another search. Maybe they would get lucky, he hoped. With their luck, probably not. Allistor sighed and pulled a book out of his satchel. If he was going to be waiting there for so many hours, he might as well have something productive to do. 'Who knows,' Allistor mused, 'maybe Krystal will pull the emergency warp switch and arrive early.'

Later that evening in Blitzkrieg's castle, the terror grinned wickedly at his two guests. Dawn and Dusk were suspended in midair with their arms and legs spread outward like an "X." What kept them in the air like this were the blue glowing rings around their bodies. "Just wait until Momma gets here, she'll beat you up," Dawn yelled courageously at her captor.

Blitzkrieg laughed at the girl's courage and loyalty to her mother. "I'm afraid that won't be happening, my Dear. Your Mommy is gone. Dead. Blown to furry blue smithereens!" he exclaimed gleefully. Both of the children's eyes' widened in shock. It wasn't possible, was it? Dusk looked sullen and completely defeated. Dawn tried her best to stay strong for her brother. The monster wasn't incapable of lying to them, so she couldn't find it in herself to believe him. This was the monster that killed their dad, after all.

"I don't believe you!"

Blitzkrieg shrugged at her defiance. "Fine, don't believe me. It won't matter in the end."

Blitzkrieg left the room he had the two situated for their stay. When he was gone, Dawn turned to her brother, who had his face to the floor and tears flowing down his cheeks and splattering on the ground. In spite of this terrible situation, Dawn still managed to form a smile, if only to give her brother a little encouragement. Dusk looked up at his sister and wondered in admiration how she could still smile after all they had gone through. "Don't listen to him, Dusk. Mom is going to save us, you'll see. And when she does, Daddy will be there with her."

"How can you be so sure, Dawn?" the azure-haired boy asked in a horsed voice.

"I don't know, but we can't give up hope. If we lose hope in Mom and Dad, then that meany wins. I don't plan on letting that happen, so how about you?" Dusk had to hand it to her. His sister had a way with words. Not to mention, there was a certain gleam in her eye that said he could believe her. It gave him some dearly needed confidence.

Elsewhere in the castle, Blitzkrieg was walking through the dark halls until the one he was searching for crossed his path. "Ah, Andross, just who I was looking for." Andross was on his way to his personal chambers when Blitzkrieg stopped him in his tracks.

"And to what do I owe this pleasure," The ape conqueror responded with teeth grinded. How Andross hated this man. Andross wanted nothing more than to destroy the demon tyrant and take everything for himself.

Blitzkrieg was not lost on the disrespect in the ape's voice, but decided to ignore it. "What? Can't a fellow conqueror just come along for a nice chat?"

Andross was no one's fool. "What is it you want? And why did you want those kids? What purpose could they possibly serve?"

"Well, what I want for you to get some rest. You have another mission coming up very soon. During my time incognito, I had planted a bug on the Solomon's bridge. It's too bad I don't come up with any time to make and plant any more of them, or else we would have known of that blue fox's jump to this world. Oh well," he smiled in satisfaction. "That little infestation wasn't much of a problem to deal with. Anyway, the bug can transmit data over dimensional frequencies, and I learned that they found out where a certain suit of armor is hidden. Get what little rest you can, because I'll need you in good form to keep that armor out of their hands, by any means necessary. And as for the why I need the children, well, I only needed one of them."

"So why did you have me go through the trouble of capturing both?" Andross asked in irritation.

Blitzkrieg closed his eyes as his face twisted into a crooked smile. "Because, I wanted to make sure I had an audience for when I use my newest invention to kill the other." Truly, this red eyed monster was soulless.

Time went by impossibly slow in the Solomon's lab. Allistor had finished his book and it was time to get Krystal and the team back in familiar territory. Allistor repeated the process from before… and he got the same results. Allistor kept the portal going for ten minute, and an extra five just in case. Now he was getting worried. Practically, a whole day had passed and Krystal's team was still gone. Surely, it couldn't have taken that long to find one simple potion, considering how confidant Krystal was in this particular mission. He was afraid something had gone wrong, but if something bad had happened, then Krystal should have already used that emergency warp. Something was wrong, he was sure of it.

He shut down the portal and wondered what kind of trouble they might have found themselves to be in. A second later, Lindsey burst through the door. Her breathing was labored and she stared at Allistor with tear streaked eyes. "Allistor, the twins! They've been taken!"

Not long after that sudden visit, the two of them, along with Alex and the Captain, were standing before the communications window where Randorn was viewable. "I'm so sorry Allistor," Randorn apologized. "We defended ourselves the best we could, but the ape that came through the portal was too powerful for us. He took the children from us and there was simply nothing we could do."

Allistor grounded his teeth and balled his fists. It was one thing after another. What was he going to say to Krystal when she returned? If her mission fails and she comes back to this, she was going to be devastated. "From what you just told us about this ape and the way he attacks, I'll bet anything its Andross," Alex deducted.

"And who is Andross?" Brandon asked.

"He comes from Krystal's universe, and he's powerful. Simple as that."

"Tough nothing, Pal," Falco's feathers were frilled in loathing. "That ape was the cause of the Lylat System's civil war. We'll need to keep our eyes peeled for him."

The Captain nodded in understanding. Although his facial features didn't reveal it, the kidnapping of the two children broke his heart. Yet, there was nothing that could be done directly. He hoped that by finding the armor, they could place some security In the near future. Speaking of which… "I want a status report of our progress to Mars."

One of the bridge operators took care of some initial formulating and turned to the Captain. "We'll reach the Martian atmosphere in a little over two hours." Leonidas accepted this answer and sat down in the captain's seat.

"Steady as she goes everyone." Allistor and Lindsey got back into their seats, and Alex and Slippy went back to the Great Fox's hanger where they came from. Before learning of the twin's kidnapping, the two of them were in the middle of upgrading the homing blasters on the Arwings. Alex didn't really know anything about this kind of mechanics, but he was learning a little more than he thought he would about Cornerian technology and the Cornerian's culture. It was a learning experience, as it probably would be when someone learns about an alien race.

Before the Solomon was able to reach Mars, they were beaten to it by Blitzkrieg's disgruntled ally. Andross had stationed his ship and squadron of Black Gears high above the Martian surface. Andross's ship, if it could be classified as such, was a cube in shape. It moved, attacked, and was powered by his thoughts alone. He and squad had camouflaged themselves to protect from both sight and radar. Blitzkrieg had ordered them to let the Solomon's crew find the armor first and then secure it from them. Andross thought of this as mere child's play; a waste of the power he commanded. He decided to swallow his pride. Andross planned on acting as the servant for only however long he needed to, and then he'd make his move to overthrow Blitzkrieg. Only for the moment however, he would do as he was told.

The Solomon arrived to Mars on schedule. It was late and the crew was beginning to feel the fatigue set in. Most were just hoping to find the armor and get back to Cerinia as soon as possible, but they believed that was only wishful thinking. The Captain pressed a button on his arm rest saying, "Please send me the sword."

"Right away, sir," replied the person on the other end.

Not long after, a couple techs walked in pushing a cart with a containment unit. Excalibur was inside the unit and it floated due to the unit's magnetism. Morgonna had told them that the sword was the key to the armor, so he had the sword brought with them. He had intended to give the sword back to Light, but he was too late in doing that. Now however, he was hoping the sword would give them some sort of clue as to where on Olympus Mons the armor was located.

As luck would have it, they received more than a hint. Once the techs had stopped the cart in front of the whole bridge crew, Excalibur began to vibrate and shine gloriously. The techs and anyone close by ran to distance themselves just in case something irreversible happened. A continuous ray of light shot out from the blade and down toward the Martian surface. Allistor, along with everyone else were stunned at their apparent lucky break. "Well, I'll be. Maybe we can finally gain the upper hand in something."

The Captain nodded in agreement. "Allistor, Lindsey. Take us down to Olympus."

"Sir," they sounded in unison. The Solomon descended through the Martian atmosphere, following the light trail the sword had provided them. On the way down, their sensors never picked up Andross and his squadron following dangerously close behind them.

The trip down to the where the sword pointed to put the crew on anticipation's edge. They knew what they were looking for, yet they really had no idea what they would find. Some imagined the set of armor to be made of gold. Others wondered whether or not the armor was protected by traps. They were all anxious to see what they would find. They arrived to a rock face of the giant mountain and the sword stopped emitting its light. It was still vibrating though, and faster than before. As if responding to the sword's vibrations, a large section of the rock face, more than big enough for the combined Solomon and Great Fox to get through, disappeared like it was only a hologram or a mirage. It was dark inside, too dark to make anything out. The sword's vibrating had ceased.

The bridge crew looked to the Captain for further orders. He nodded for them to continue forward, and they slowly moved forward through the darkened entrance. Once they were inside, the ceiling lit up. The crew looked up to see three extremely long and huge light strips. Not a shadow, aside from what the Solomon casted, was present. It was one big room with metal walls and a stone ceiling. Lindsey turned from the ceiling's lights to her terminal to run a scan of the room. "What? That can't be right?"

The Captain turned to her asking, "What did you find?"

"The scan said that there is oxygen present in this room, but how can that be."

"Lost Atlantean technology," the Captain said simply. "Dock the Solomon. I'm going outside, and I would like for the usual volunteers to join me." The Captain turned to give the bridge crew an order. "While we're gone, I want to you all to keep a careful watch out for anything. I'll be in touch so tell me if anything happens." They nodded and went to work as Leonidas, and all those who decided to join him, left the Solomon's safety.

Once outside of the ship, Leonidas, Alex, Slippy, Falco, Lindsey, Allistor, Brandon and a few choice foot soldiers looked around and saw another entrance way over on the other side of the room. They hadn't noticed it before because of the enormity of the room itself. The Captain stepped out in front of them and led the way. The group traveled through the entrance and down a long corridor. Once they finally exited the corridor, they stared up in disbelief. They had all been expecting to find a suit of armor, like that of medieval legend seeing as how the Excalibur was associated with that time period. This was beyond what they thought they might find, and it made this situation a lot more complicated than it needed to be.

Sitting before them in the unceremoniously huge room like a king on his throne, for it was a giant stone throne it was sitting in, was the armor. "Armor" wasn't really the word for it. Alex was the first to gather his mind and form a sentence. "That's NOT an armor. It's a freakin' MECH!" The armor of the forlorn knight was a mech indeed.

The mech's armor was grey in color and black in the joints. It was humanoid in shape and on different parts of its body were seven grey crystalline hemispheres. Two were on different sides of its chest, one on each of the knees, one on each of its paldrons, and finally one smaller crystal was embedded into the fore head. Other than what they had previously noticed about, the mech did resemble a powerful looking knight.

"It's amazing," Slippy commented in a heavenly stupor. Just seeing technology like what was before him was a dream come true.

"Yeah," Falco retorted in a sarcastic tone. "An amazing pain that is. How do we get that thing out of here?"

"That hall way was big, but no where near big enough to get through. It's certainly a conundrum, isn't it?" Brandon replied.

"Then there's no need for any of you to panic," a voice called out behind them. They all turned in surprise only to jump back in fearful astonishment. The ape conqueror, Andross, and his squad of six Black Gears with their arm cannons aimed and ready stood blocking their only way of escape. "I'll be the one to be taking that weapon."

Leonidas's eyes narrowed. "So, you must be Andross. I've heard much about you. You kidnapped the children of a very dear friend of mine."

Andross chuckled in amusement, "I'm afraid I can't say the same about you. It won't matter in the next few moments though. You'll all be dead."

Allistor had to wonder. "How did you manage to get pass the Solomon?" The ape snapped his fingers and the Black Gears vibrated out of the visible spectrum. Allistor let out an audible, "tch!"

"As much as I hate that pompous demon, I do have to admit that he is a master of war strategy. These Black Gears of his can camouflage themselves from both sight and radar detection. Any last words?" While the ape was monologueing, he never realized that the Gears shared another feature. They were recording him live for Blitzkrieg's viewing pleasure.

From within his castle, Blitzkrieg was joined in watching the exchange by Wolf and his team. "He talks a lot, doesn't he?" commented Panther.

Blitzkrieg laughed at the comment. "He can talk as much as he wants, so long as he gives me satisfying results." He said this while lightly shaking a wine glass in his hand. All eyes returned to the viewing screen to watch the feed they were getting from the Gears.

Back to Andross and Leonidas, the two stared each other down. Leonidas's hand was at his side and seemed to twitch in expectation. Andross noticed this wondered what the Captain of the Solomon had planned in head. Alex was beginning to feel the same tingling and burning sensation as he had when they fought the Void. This was going to be interesting.

In the same second, the Captain and Andross made their move. Andross opened his mouth and screamed out, blasting sound waves at Leonidas. The Captain, as if he was a lightning fast sharpshooter, whipped out a golden pistol with strange markings on it and fired directly at the ape. That pistol didn't just fire a bullet; it fired a blast of energy that looked like it rivaled the Solomon's main cannon. A flash of light filled the room, both from the individual attacks and from behind Leonidas. The two blasts clashed with each other and combusted into a fiery explosion. Both sides were knocked back, but Andross felt the full force of the attack and was launched backwards. The ape crashed into the metal wall of the room, leaving an indent in the shape of his body before he fell off.

The Gears wasted no time in started their attack. Since they were invisible, the soldiers set up their energy barriers to protect from the Gear's blasters. The soldiers fired their rifles wherever they saw a beam was fired at them. Leonidas got on his communications link and called the Solomon crew. "Yes, Captain! What's your situation?"

"We've made contact with the enemy. Do not send any reinforcements, but follow my commands exactly as I say them!"

"Yes, Captain!"

In the confusion of the fire fight, Alex was up in the air… and he stayed there. The armored and transformed Alex was in midair. He stretched one arm outward and used the other to pull back and ready an arrow composed of condensed hurricane winds. Although he couldn't see the Gears with his eyes, he could the very atmosphere around them and what was in it. Identifying the Gears wasn't a problem, because they took up the most space. Alex saw three cluttered together and released the readied bolt of wind.

The Gears struck were ripped to metal shreds. Alex didn't have time to celebrate his success as a large metal slammed into his airborne body, bringing him back down to the ground. Andross had gotten back up from the floor and saw what Alex did to the Gears. The ape didn't want the young man to get back up and unleashed an arc of electricity from his hands. Before the electricity could reach its mark, the arc of energy came into contact with a flying sphere on a metal rope. The sphere absorbed every last drop of electricity in the attack and flew back to its owner.

It was Falco with Slippy beside him who protected Alex from the evil conqueror. "Hey, Monkey! How about a taste of your own medicine!" After the avian yelled that out, Slippy started firing at Andross with his little laser pistol. Although it had no where near the impact the Captain's had, Andross was still forced to pull some panels together to make a shield from the attacks. Once he lowered them, Andross was too late to protect himself from Falco's aerial maneuver. Falco had somersaulted into the air and whipped the sphere at the telekinetic tyrant. On contact, Andross felt every volt of his own attack electrocute him.

The ape wasn't very weak for being elderly as his body was still very sturdy. The attack only stunned him briefly, but he felt that he reached the limit of his mercy. "THAT IS IT! You will all DIE!" Dozens more panels appeared out of thin air and started spinning together in a tornado formation and knocking out Falco and Slippy. The enraged attack even blindly destroyed one of the Gears that were firing at the soldiers. "YES! NOW SEE THE TRUE POWER OF YOUR EXECUTIONER!" Andross became engulfed in a cube that flew up high in the air and the panels he was using in his tornado attack came together to form around the cube with his image on it, making a shield face.

Brandon and his soldiers just managed to destroy one of the camouflaged Gears after pumping as many laser blasts as they could into its chassis. When that tornado of panels had gone through they turned from the destroyed machine and looked up in the air. Andross opened the mouth and panels started flying out and destroying everything in sight. A panel crushed one of Brandon's men and Slippy got sideswiped in the arm by a flying panel, breaking the amphibian bones in it. The soldiers had to reposition their weakening shields to protect themselves as they fired at Andross's shield face. It didn't even get scratched. Allistor and Lindsey had taken refuge behind the chassis of a dead Gear wondering what to do under the ape's assault and battery. Alex, Falco, and Slippy were doing the same behind another dead Gear. Lindsey turned to check and see if they were okay under the attack, but she stopped to see the Gear's arm cannon. "Allistor, look!" The man turned to her and looked at what she was pointing at. He nodded to her and they grabbed it.

After playing around with it for a moment or two, they found the safety for the manual trigger of the cannon. They aimed and fired. The blast hit the left blue glowing eye. It didn't do any real damage, but it did stop his onslaught for a short minute. That minute was all Alex and Falco needed. The Avian used laser rifle to fire at one eye and Alex flew fast with a punch reared back slammed it into Andross's other eye, busting its lights out. In response to Alex's attack, the shield face rushed forward and head butted Alex's entire body. The young man fell hard and fast into the ground, but it looked like he wasn't severely injured nor had any broken bones thanks to his armored state.

"ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!" Andross proclaimed. "IF DESTROYING YOU WON'T WORK, THEN I'LL JUST DESTROY THE MECH!" Andross's shield face reformed itself from a human shape to that of a demon's.

The Captain turned to Alex sharply and yelled out, "ALEX, GET UP! You need to protect the armor!"

Alex got up as quickly as he could at the Captain's words. "Got it!"

Just as the shield face turned to focus its next powerful attack on the forlorn knight armor, Alex flew to protect the armor behind him. Andross released a single plasma charge and Alex countered with a hurricane force fist. The transformed Alex struck the plasma shot, reflecting it back to eye that shot it out. At the same time, the Captain yelled into his com link while aiming his pistol at Andross, "FIRE THE ASTRAL BUSTERS, NOW!" The reflected plasma shot blew out the last eye, causing the collective of panels to break apart and dissolve. Andross's cube was open. The Captain shot another powerful blast straight up at the cube and, as the Captain had ordered beforehand, a raging wave of energy rained down through the roof of the mountain and the room, and both blasts swallowed Andross into oblivion while canceling each other out.

And just like that, the battle was over.

Everyone smiled in celebration that Andross was gone. Falco and Slippy were especially happy. They were able to defeat Andross without Fox's help. The only one not happy with the results of their victory was the Captain. The Captain turned to Brandon and ordered the celebrating soldier, "CO, I want you and everyone to get back to the Solomon. It'll be docking in a few minutes. When we're on board, we'll airlift the mech out here through the hole in the ceiling. I also want you to grab one of those machines and bring it on board for analysis."

"Sir, yes, sir," Brandon saluted and helped to usher the rest of the team back to the Solomon. They were also going to need some help moving one of the machines into the ship. When everyone else had left, Alex, back into his untransformed state, asked Leonidas a question regarding his gun.

"What is that gun? A shot that powerful wasn't normal at all."

The Captain nodded, "You're quite right it's not. It's reverse engineered technology from area-51. The Solomon's turrets were modeled after this gun's capabilities." Alex was surprised, although he knew he probably shouldn't have been.

"Alright…," Alex responded while leaving to catch up with the others. Leonidas was alone then in the room, or that is what it would have seemed. Without even looking, Leonidas whipped out his pistol one last time to his far right and blasted a camouflaged Gear. Everyone, besides the Captain, had lost track of that one Gear in the battle. The Captain noticed that it had clung itself to the wall and figured out that it was sending a live feed of the battle to its master. Leonidas was upset that he wasn't able to find any information on how to get the twins back, but the least he could do was send the recipient of the feed a message. The Captain also figured out that the only way they could have known about the armor's location was if the command bridge was bugged, so he would have to do a thorough search when he got back.

He sighed in utter relief though. They had done their part and now it was all up to Krystal and her team to take care of the rest… wherever they were.

Blitzkrieg, after watching the fate Andross had been dealt, crushed the wine in his gloved hand in irritation. Andrew Oikonny yelped out, "UNCLE ANDROSS! NO!" Blitzkrieg said nothing, but he was steaming with almost uncontrollable rage on the inside. Not only were they able to finish off Andross, they were also able to destroy his Gears and secure the forlorn knight armor.

Wolf studied his employer's face and asked him what was on his mind, not caring that the tyrant was boiling in anger. "If you don't mind me asking, what is all of this about? I know it's not my place to ask and I don't really care one way or the other, but what is it all for? What is your goal?" Although he might not have meant to, Wolf's question struck a cord.

Blitzkrieg grounded his teeth together. "That's precisely what I'd like to know." The four others turned to him in surprise. "What it is I seek, is my destiny. I don't know what it could be, but I have always had this feeling or thought in the back of my head telling me that I used to know. But that would be impossible; at least I thought it was. But then at Atlantis, I saw it. I saw my brother become something powerful and familiar. It was like I was watching a fragment of a long forgotten memory. It was power in a primal state that I had never seen or imagined before, but I also knew of it. That is where his child comes in, and why I need to finish my invention as soon as possible. His child is the key. I had theorized it before all of this started, but now I'm certain. If I can unlock that same power, I may be able to discover my destiny. My true purpose for being."

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**Fun Fact****: When I was first outlining this chapter, believe it or not, I had actually casted Andross's role as Blitzkrieg's ally to Ganondorf. However, I didn't want the story to become a crossover, although I probably could have used Ganondorf just from the way this world's background was set up. In the end though, I just had to use Andross because I felt that his reactions to Blitzkrieg would be more entertaining. **


	24. The Wiseman in the Void

**Author's Note****: I'm officially on my break. That means I have a lot of time on my hands for writing this now. It's been a few weeks, and about five essays and two exams later (Yeah, that much!), but now I'm getting back into my writing groove. Speaking of which, I'll be doing three chapters, including this one, over the next week. Thanksgiving week is revelation week for Krystal. I hope you guys enjoy it and sorry again for all of the lateness. I really hate my Lit. class! Oh well. Be sure to read and review.  
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**Chapter 23**

**The Wiseman in the Void  
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Nothingness. That was the only word to describe where Krystal and her team had arrived to. They knew it was a risk to use the device and they would get sent to another dimension than the one they solely desired. This dimension was a world of blackness. Strangely, the group could see each other, but nothing other than the dark emptiness around. "Oh, God, no!" Nat said as he collapsed to the floor. "Yep, we're done for."

Chris went up to Nat and pulled his friend back up onto his feet. "Stop being so dramatic, Nat. We're not done for."

"Dude just look at where we are. Tell me, what we can possibly do."

"Not panic," replied Fox. All eyes, but Krystal's, landed on him. "If we panic, then nothing good gets done."

"Fox is right," Saber announced. "We need to stop thinking about what we can't do and start thinking about what we can do." He turned to Krystal. "Sister, what do you think?"

Krystal had her head down ever since they had first entered that dimension and started their conversation. Her bangs covered her eyes from view. She mumbled something, prompting the others to ask what it was she was saying. "I said I don't know!" she snarled. "This machine is fried beyond repair and I don't have the tools to do anything about." She threw what was left of the device at the ground and let her harsh words sink in as she yelled out into empty space. "WHY? Why?" she said again in a whispered tone. Against the odds, they had managed to find Blitzkrieg's hideout, get the potion they needed, and escaped an attempt on their lives. Now all of that seemed almost meaningless. Light and her kids came to mind and tears began to well up again in her eyes.

Nat looked over at Saber with accusing eyes. "Now look at what you've gone and done."

"Me?" Saber asked angry and offended. The four started arguing loudly amongst themselves, trying to put blame on one another, when an old, craggy male voice spoke and scared them all half-to-death.

"Oh just calm down already! I'm on way, so just keep the noise down a little." None of them could figure out where the speaker was because it sounded like it was coming from everywhere. A brown wooden door materialized before them out of the nothingness and opened. A balding old man walked out of the door casually like this was an everyday occurrence. He had a grey beard, squinted eyes and he wore a long brown tunic robe. With the help of his walking stick, the old man walked out of the doorway and stood before the wide-eyed individuals. Krystal's team watched as the doorway faded out of existence. It was clear that the laws of physics didn't exactly apply to wherever it was they were.

"Who are you?" Krystal finally asked.

"That's kind of you to ask. I'm Klouse. It's so good to finally meet you Krystal." Krystal's mouth dropped at the old man's words.

"You know my name?"

Klouse nodded. "I know all of your names. I was the one who brought here when you activated that machine after all. If I hadn't, you'd all have been lost in existence. I've been watching you all for a while now. You see, I'm a planes traveler. I can travel to different times and dimensions, looking for rare artifacts and books for my library." In the space that separated Krystal from her team, a stone water well appeared. "I sometimes watch the happenings of other worlds through the water of this well, including yours."

Nat got a hopeful look in his eye and skipped over to the Klouse. "Does that mean you can take us back home?"

"Unlike that Morganna woman you met, yes, I can take you back. My dimensional powers easily surpass hers." Before you know it, Nat started jumping for joy.

"YES! YES! We're going back!"

"You're not going back." Nat stop and looked at him as if the old man was off his rocker.

Sabre was outraged and couldn't hold his tongue. "Now wait just a moment. You said you can take us back and that you can't. So which is it?"

"No. I said I can take you back, but I'm not going to." This sentence earned him a spear head against his throat. It wasn't Saber's, it was Krystal's and she was beyond angry.

"I'm warning you," she said with killing intent. "I've gone through too much to have someone like you standing in my way. So, tell me why are you trying to impede us? Think VERY carefully about your answer."

Klouse didn't even flinch. "That's rather dark of you, don't you think." That caught Krystal off guard. She had just threatened an elderly man's wife. She wondered whether or not her anger really was getting out of control. The spear trembled within her arms before being dropped to the floor with a clang.

"Please, forgive me. So much has happened, so much I wish I could take back." She fell to the floor and buried her face in her hands. While she cried, she was pulled into the old man's comforting embrace.

"I know, my Dear. I know. I've seen all you've gone through, and I want to help you in the best way possible."

"Then, why won't you let us go home."

Klouse reached to take her revive potion and dangled it in front of her. "Because, for your purposes, this potion won't work."

"What!"

"From what I understand, you're trying to bring your husband back to life. Am I right?" She hesitantly nodded. "Well, that potion will not work. For any other person, maybe, but not your husband. Light was special."

"What do you mean?"

Klouse stood, saying, "Pick up your staff and follow me. I promise you'll get your answers." She silently did as she was told and the others started to follow, but were halted by Klouse's voice. "Stop. I'm afraid that this is a private conversation. You all will have to just stay here and wait."

"Oh, no you don't," Nat replied. "If there is anything you need to tell Krystal about Light, you can tell it to the rest of us." Klouse gave a snap of his fingers and dimensional hole appeared under Nat's feet, making the unfortunate guy fall through into the nothingness. The hole disappeared soon after.

"Don't worry about him. He'll be back, but is there anyone else who wants to come with us?" The three that were left merely averted their eyes to other directions, away from wise man's gaze. "I thought so." A door appeared in front of Klouse and Krystal, and the two walked through it.

Fox, Sabre, and Chris watched the door dematerialize and heard a faint sound getting louder. "What now?" Fox groaned to himself. The three looked around for the sound that was steadily growing louder by the second and sounded like yelling. Nat's body fell several yards away from them and landed on the invisible floor.

The three rushed over to his side and got him to sit up. "Nat, are you alright? Alive, at least?" Nat only shivered in response, like he had seen a ghost.

"What did you se…?" Nat's hand shot up to the vulpine's face, shutting his comrade off.

"What ever you do, we must never say anything about this ever again. The things I saw in those short seconds, no man should ever have to see."

Krystal and Klouse walked out the other side of the door into a library. "Library" was a very loose word for describing the endless rows of bookshelves in front, above, and below where they stood. Krystal suddenly felt nausea well up inside of her. "Come this way," Klouse ordered. Instead of walking out in front of her, he started floating up high into the bookshelves suspended in midair above them. After staring after him for a moment, her body started to involuntarily float into the air and follow the old man with a slight yelp of surprise. They stopped floating evenly with an isle of bookshelves and Klouse started walking through. Krystal was hesitant though, because there wasn't a defined floor in the whole room. "Don't dawdle now; we have serious business to talk about."

Krystal slowly nodded and started walking forward without looking down. She was walking on nothing but air and struggled to keep her eyes from wandering down. For several minutes, the two walked down the isle until Klouse stooped. A book flew in from one of the bookshelves on the right and placed itself in the old man's hands. "As I told you before, your husband and three others are different from anyone else in the multi-verse. They are all part Void." Krystal didn't really know what to say. Ever since Atlantis, she had suspicions that Light wasn't exactly human, but part Void? "That potion of yours may not work, but I'm going to offer you an alternative."

"Why," Krystal asked. She had wanted to ask that for a while. "Why do you want to help us this much when you've never really met us?" It was a legitimate question.

Klouse nodded. "Part of the reason is that when you finally face Malxifel, not only will your world in peril, but the entire multi-verse will be at stake." Krystal could hardly believe what she was hearing.

"But… how could such a thing be that powerful?"

"He isn't, yet, at least," Klouse said while flipping through pages of the book. "Malxifel is a powerful being indeed, however alone he cannot gather the paradox energy he needs."

"Paradox energy?"

"Indeed. Ten thousand years ago, Atlantis was a thriving and powerful society. You heard from Morganna that the Void attacked suddenly for no foreseeable reason, right? The reason for the attack was paradox energy. In those times Atlantis had used advance technology to create magic, a force that shouldn't have existed in the first place. It bends the laws of reality and the supernatural. Thus, paradox energy came to exist in your world. Unlike any other world, paradox energy was the most prevalent in yours. The sheer amount of it was enough to weaken the barriers of the Grand Cross and allow the Void to start an attack. What Malxifel planned to do was gather enough paradox energy so he could crossover over into the world from the Void dimension. He can't do it himself though, so he sent his emissary to gather the energy for him. His emissary is a part of him. Powerful and nearly unstoppable, but not powerful enough to be held at bay by the barriers that bind Malxifel. If the emissary is destroyed, then Malxifel can be stopped."

"What do you mean; the emissary was stopped ages ago."

"Temporarily, yes. The Atlanteans separated the servant from the master. That was enough to stop the first assault on your world. Malxifel will try again though. I don't how he's going to though, seeing as how your husband is dead." Klouse looked into Krystal's eyes and saw a war raging in her mind. She knew what he was implying, but seemed to be unwilling to accept it. "Your husband, Light, was the Emissary of the Void, and his sole purpose for existence was to destroy Earth Prime and end all life as we know it." Klouse decided to just let that sink in for a moment.

"That was the reason why the reason why the Void has attacked you on several occasions. If they were able to capture Light, then Malxifel could take him back. I know what you're thinking. Your wondering what Earth Prime is."

Krystal nodded. "Yes, what is Earth Prime?"

"Earth Prime is the first Earth. It is the world from which all universes in the multi-verse are rooted from. With every thought, book, or game, a new universe is made. The Grand Cross exists to protect Earth Prime, especially from the likes of Malxifel. Your Earth is not Earth Prime, but in the Grand Cross nexus your Earth is the send Earth in the line of existence, and thus is Earth Prime's greatest defense. In order for Malxifel to collapse the multi-verse, he has to destroy Earth Prime WITH his emissary. To do that, he has gain access to it by first breaking the barriers that separate him from yours. From there, the only thing that could possibly stop him is you."

Krystal's eyes narrowed at the old man in confusion. This was a lot for anyone to take in, but she guessed that when you're dealing with the whole of existence, nothing was ever simple. That wasn't what confused her though. "If all of what you're saying is true, then why are you trying to help me get Light back? If there is a possibility that Malxifel will try to take him, then shouldn't you want to keep Light dead?"

Klouse sighed. "I understand what you mean. There is a possibility that it could happen, but I fear that Malxifel may have found another way to access your world. Blitzkrieg." The sudden image of that monster coming to mind was enough to shorten Krystal's breath. "I see you're beginning to understand now. Blitzkrieg is a part of your husband, and that makes him Light's successor as the Emissary of the Void. The only one with enough power to truly oppose Blitzkrieg and keep him from becoming the emissary is Light. And if we're lucky, we might be able to put an end to Malxifel once and for all. Here, take a look at this."

Klouse showed Krystal a page from the book with the picture of a short two-pronged bladed weapon pictured. "The Anima Dagger," she read from the inscription. "What does this dagger got to do to reviving Light?" Klouse took the book back and snapped his fingers. They were no longer in a library, but a room filled with strange artifacts. Before them was the dagger pictured in the book and it was lying on a pedestal.

Klouse went up the dagger and picked it up. "In order for you revive your husband, you need to gather two different kinds of paradox energy. Positive and negative. The Anima Dagger can help you in gathering what you need, but the possibility of an actual revival is low. This process has never really been tested, so I can not tell you that it will work for sure. It is a chance though. And before anything else, I need to tell you that gathering this energy won't be easy."

Krystal felt that Klouse was challenging her, so she made herself firm. "Tell me, what do I need to do?"

"You need to complete two trials. I won't lie; this will be the hardest experience anyone could ever be put through. You must kill two marks. I can take you to where those marks are located, but you're on your own from there." Krystal smiled. She was confident in her fighting and physical athletic abilities.

"No problem. If it's for Light, I'll take on anything you have to throw at me."

Klouse turned around so he wasn't facing her. 'I'm sorry,' he thought to himself. 'What you're going to have to go through, my Dear, is something I wouldn't wish on anyone.' "In that case," he finally said after a minute of silence. "Follow me."

Klouse led Krystal back to the room where the others had been left to wait. "Your back," Saber exclaimed while giving his sister a hug. "We were all getting worried."

"Don't worry about me, Saber. Its looks like we'll be staying here a little while longer though."

"Oh great," Nat groaned. Krystal just noticed that it looked like the insect was alright. "What do we have to do now?"

"Not you," Klouse interrupted. "Only Krystal. She'll be going to be taking on a couple challenges, but she'll need to face them alone with no help from anyone."

Fox walked up to him and asked, "Then what are we supposed to do?" The water well appeared once again and everyone gathered around it. "What you all need to do is watch and cheer for her. These are challenges only she can possibly deal with. If she can complete these challenges, then you may be able to get your friend back. Understand." The guys looked at each other to converse with their eyes. They begrudgingly nodded. "Good. Krystal, here." Klouse gave her Anima Dagger and looked her in the eyes. "Are you ready?"

Krystal nodded with resolve. "Yes, I am."

"Then I'll send you to find your first mark. Remember, you must kill your marks with the marks with the dagger in order for it to gather the energy you need."

"Wait a minute, why aren't you coming?" she asked.

"No, I'm not."

"But I can't find it alone. I don't even know what it looks like."

"Finding your marks alone is a part of your trial. You'll know them when you see them, but you won't get any second chances. It'll be all-or-nothing."

Krystal gripped the dagger in her hand, trying to get a feel for the weight of everything that depended on it. She breathed in a big breath of air, trying to mentally prepare herself for what might happen. "Well, I guess I'll see you all when I do." The guys said their good byes and watched as she disappeared to where ever Klouse sent her.

"I hope you all said your goodbyes properly," the old man commented.

Chris was puzzled by that statement. "And what is that supposed to mean?"

"The next time we see Krystal, if she succeeds, she won't be same person who had just left us." This rang heavy for all of the guy's minds. What was Krystal truly in for?


	25. Angel of Darkness

**Author's Note: Its been a while, but I'm finally out of school for winter break. Sorry about that claim from last chapter. I do mean to give you all faster updates if I can, but it simply wasn't wasn't meant to be. I've decided to just not make any announcements on update, just for the sake of my own mental health. Anyway, faster updates should be coming and I hope you all enjoy the chapter.**

**Music Alert: The song for this chapter is "Angle of Darkness" by Alex C. Yasmin K.  
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**Chapter 24**

**Angel of Darkness**

The Cerinian princess felt elated in the feeling of her body falling through a time/space tunnel. She felt entirely relaxed and ready for whatever was facing her on the other side. She wondered if this was because of Klouse's powers or her own excitement. Maybe it wasn't either. Then she thought she heard something, but dismissed it. She also felt a very small moment of overwhelming sadness. Just as soon as it had come, the feeling left. She shook the feelings off when the end of the tunnel showed itself. It was time.

Krystal found herself transported to a thick forest. Her mark was probably close by in the forest, but she had to be careful. It was getting dark, so that was going to make this task extra difficult. Krystal tied the dagger to her staff's strap on to her back and kept her staff readied to strike at a moment's notice. As silent as a hunter, Krystal crept through the forest while keeping low to the ground. She had no idea what to expect, or even a direction to go by. Timed passed and it was after dark with only the full moon lighting her way. She moved carefully until she heard a whistling sound from the sky. Krystal turned her eyes up and searched for the source of the noise.

Krystal spotted the source through the trees. It looked like a shooting star, but that couldn't be right. Shooting stars were full of light. This one was black with swirls of blue and red around it. The star, or whatever it was, landed in the distance, causing a burst of cold and warm colors to flare up. Krystal was sure that thing would lead her to her target. She ran with staff in hand, but was careful to watch her back as she moved.

It wasn't long before she saw the forest coming to an end up ahead. Krystal slowed her pace and moved some branches aside to see what was on the other side. The forest came to a road with another strip of forest beginning on the other side. Krystal didn't really notice this because of the strange scene that was happening on said road. A young woman, pregnant by the look of it, was on the ground crawling back from the entity before her. A man in a black raiment with white armor on the inside. The wrist cuffs of the raiment were a blue and red color, the same shades that she saw around the falling star. His hair was white as snow with black streaks on the side and messy as it framed his face, but she couldn't see his eyes from her angle. The man raised his arm and muttered something to the woman. It was said softly, but Krystal was able to hear it. He said, 'You will die,' to the frightened woman. The man opened his palm and a ball of violent-black energy began condensing in his hand.

This whole scene screamed déjà vu to Krystal. It was like she was reliving a dream she once had, but she had never had a dream like this before. Every detail about this was too familiar to her. She shook her troubling thoughts away and ran to help the woman. Before the man could do away with the woman, who had just closed her eyes in fear, Krystal tackled him right into the other forest. The entity's blast was released, but it only blew away some trees. Krystal and the man rolled down the hill, hitting branches and bushes on the way. Once they hit the ground, the two separated from each other upon landing in a small clearing.

Krystal and the figure across from her stood up and got a good look at their opposition's face. With the light of the full moon and her always excellent eyesight, Krystal got a shock that sent a chill down her spine. The figure's face was Light's? She couldn't believe it. She didn't want to believe it. It was his face, but the eyes were violet and cold! Suddenly, Krystal remembered why this whole scene was so familiar. She had heard about all of this from Light's mother while on their honeymoon.

_It was on the day they decided to go to the pool, after Krystal got tired of swimming and went to rest in a lawn chair beside Light's Parents. Krystal lied down and put on a pair of sunglasses over her eyes. "Hey Krystal!" she heard Light shout out to her from the high dive. She diverted her eyes from the horizon to watch Light try and do a trick jump. He ran across the board ready to make preparation for the jump, but before he could even think about doing it, he slipped and fell off the board into the water. Krystal's breathing quickened and she was ready to get up to check on him when his head finally burst out of the water, sending water droplets everywhere. They stared at each other for a moment before Krystal burst out in innocent laughter. Light didn't think it was all that funny, but he couldn't help but laugh at himself too. He went back to his swimming with Chris and the others, and Krystal went back to her sun bathing. And as she did that, Light's parents also laughed at the sight of their son._

_"That's my miracle child for you," laughed Sarah. That caught Krystal's attention._

_"Excuse me, but what do you mean by miracle child? You haven't talked about anything like that." Sarah contemplated on whether or not to tell her, but not because what she had to say was bad but because it was an unbelievable story._

_"Well, it all happened when I was pregnant with Light. You see, while I was pregnant the doctor told me that he would die during the pregnancy, and offered to refer me to an abortion clinic so I wouldn't have to go through all of the pain of a miscarriage… I refused. There was no way I could ever willingly kill my own child, even if he was going to die anyway. I wanted to get to know my child for as long as possible, even if it was going to end in death. One week I was out of town at a convention for work and I was driving back home at night when there was a sudden flash of black, and then it changed to blue and red. I stopped my car to get out when I saw a man standing in front of my vehicle. He had a very cold appearance but it was those eyes that were the most unforgettable in a frightening way; they were an impossible purple color. He simply said to me, 'You will die.' He said it so coldly and his expression showed absolutely no emotion, so I knew he wasn't joking. He then raised his hand toward my face, and it started to glow with the same wicked color as his eyes. I closed my own eyes not knowing what to do when I felt a gust of wind rush past me. I opened them to see nothing else in my way. I turned to my left to see that the trees had been destroyed somehow, so I decided to get into my car and leave before he decided to return, or anything else for that matter. As I drove, I believed that I was a good distance from anything else, but I was wrong. I looked in my rear view mirror and saw a strange white light shoot out from the forest, back where I had encountered the strange man. It was like a comet… it was strangely beautiful, but it was coming right at me. I tried making a turn to dodge it, but I was too late. It hit me and my vehicle. I don't remember anything else after that because I blacked out. When I woke up, though, I found myself in a hospital bed with Timmy asleep at my side. He then woke up and hugged me. But my mind wasn't on my own health, but rather on the baby's. When I asked what had happened to my baby, the doctor gave me some surprising news. Not only was my baby okay from the car accident, but miraculously, he told me my baby was going to live on. And some months later, the shining smile that belonged to Light came into this world."_

_Krystal had been on the edge of her seat the whole time she had spent listening. To think that there had been a possibility that Light wouldn't be here, scared her. He was here though, so her worry turned into loving relief. "Please do me a favor Krystal. Even through the bad times, always cherish your love for him. I know he will as well." Krystal nodded with tears in her eyes. She turned her attention to her husband and watched on with even more appreciation for him than ever before._

Krystal felt lower than low. She wasn't able to keep her promise to Light's mother, but Light did. She looked deeper into the eyes of the entity and saw no warmth or comfort like with her husband's. She wondered to herself if this was the entity they had heard about in Atlantis, the Emissary of the Void. If that was the case, then that would mean Klouse sent her to the time when the Emissary was cut off from Malxifel's power.

"Why did you interrupt me?" he said in the same voice as Light's.

Krystal shook herself out of her shock. "Because, it's not right to take an innocent life for amusement."

"She was merely in my way." The way he spoke was devoid of emotion. This creature may have had Light's face, but it clearly didn't have his caring soul. "And now you are in my way as well." The Emissary stretched his arms out and two swords materialized in his palm. In his right hand was Light's white frost sabre and in his left was Blitz's black scorch blade. He then sprouted wings made of black ice. He was an angel of darkness, ready to smite indiscriminately. "The punishment for all who stand in the way of my master and I… is death."

Krystal readied her staff. It had been a while since she had a good exercise, but Krystal knew this fight was of the upmost important. If she was going to get her husband back, she was willing to fight anything that would prevent her from doing so. "Go on, just try it! I have been in a horrible mood and this is going to be good for all of my pent up aggression."

Krystal pointed her staff at the Emissary and fired a couple fire bolts. The Emissary didn't flinch as he expertly deflected the bolts into the sky his swords. "Alright, how about this?" Krystal started to twirl her staff above her head and flung a blue flame wheel at her opponent. The wheel flew at the Emissary, but he flew up into the sky to dodge it. Krystal grinned knowingly. "I hope you don't think that'll work," she called out to him.

The Emissary turned around just in time to see the flame wheel hit him. "Ugh! You wench!" He turned around to get a vulpine knee driven into his abdomen. While he was distracted, Krystal had leapt into the air like she was an eagle to get a double hit on him. She thought she was doing well, but she was wrong.

Krystal felt a full palm of her hair get grabbed and pull her head back. The Emissary threw her back down to the ground, believing the impact will break her. Krystal landed on the grassy floor, but she made a roll at the last second to cushion the fall. "Alright. Not one of my better plans," she pointed out. The Emissary floated down with the same stoic expression as before. He made one long slash with the frost blade and a blade beam rocketed toward her position. Krystal rolled to the side, firing fire bolts as she did. It looked like they would hit their mark, but instead the bolts were deflected again. She couldn't believe how tough this guy was. Although, this was the Emissary of the Void she was dealing with. Even if he had a big power cut from being separated from his master, he was still unbelievably powerful.

The Emissary waved his hand and the environment around Krystal began to freeze. Krystal jumped outside of the encircling, freezing air, but had a hard landing on her ankle. She hissed in pain. Her ankle didn't feel broken, but she was going to lose her advantage in agility. Her opponent wasn't going to allow her any time to recover. He pointed his left sword at her and threw a black fireball at her from its tip.

Krystal's eyes widened and tried to move as fast as she could to get out of the way. She managed to avoid the blast's epicenter, but the combustion blew her away. Krystal screamed in pain as she flew and skidded across the forest floor. She managed to keep hold of her staff and used it as a clutch to pick herself up from the dirt ground. Krystal was sure some of the fur on the back of her neck got singed. She turned around just in time to see and block a white sabre with her staff. The Emissary brought down his swords on her in different angles, pushing Krystal's defense back step by painful step. Krystal could hardly keep up with the slashes coming her way. Krystal pushed forward to try and gain some ground, but the Emissary parried and disarmed Krystal of her staff. It fell behind him as she fell back.

The Emissary's black sword dissipated from existence and he used his free hand to pick Krystal up by her head. He held her upright in midair, squeezing her cranium. Krystal felt waves of pain resonate throughout her body with the Emissary's increasing grip. She gritted her teeth to try and dull some of the pain, but that was all she could do. Her body felt frozen and paralyzed within his grasp.

The Emissary gave her a harsh examination and began to raise his right arm, lining up the frost sabre with Krystal's heart.

The blue vulpine couldn't stop the tears that had been threatening to release under the pain. She looked at the point of the blade before her and what crossed her mind was not her own life, but the lives of her family. She closed her eyes and thought of her children, her husband, and the joyful times they shared for the umpteenth time. Normally, she would use their memories to draw strength from. This moment was different. She was facing down an enemy with greater power than she could possibly handle. Even worse than that, she had to do this alone. She almost felt like giving up… almost.

Light came to mind and what he would say to her if he knew thoughts of giving up were plaguing her mind. He'd probably say something like, 'Krystal, no matter what, don't give up. Even if it looks like it's the end, never EVER give up. Remember that you're never really alone, even when you're separated from those who love you. Dawn, Dusk, Marcus… and me. I love you more than anything in the world. Without you, I don't know what I would do. Now get back out there and show this guy what it means to mess with our family.'

'Wait a minute?' She opened her eyes again with new inspiration. 'That's it,' she thought to herself. She had an epiphany, and a way to finally beat this guy. Krystal concentrated hard on image of Light and got the results she was looking for.

The Emissary went into a momentary mental shock and let go of his grasp on Krystal's head. A mental picture of himself with different color hair and eyes, with several other people smiling around him shot through his mind. "HARLOT! I demand to know what you did to me!"

"I just thought I'd show you a part of yourself that I bet you didn't know you had. How about I show you some more!" Krystal pounced at him and grasped his forehead with her hands. She used her telepathy to send images of her, Light, and their offspring into his head. The Emissary got another mental shock, at which point he hurried to fly backwards out of her grasp again and put some distance between them. Krystal took advantage of his retreat to retrieve her staff.

"What are you doing to me? TELL ME!" The Emissary's usually cold expression had changed to one of pure rage.

Krystal ran at him with renewed confidence. "You'll see!" The Emissary rematerialized his black scorch blade and ran at her with only the intent to kill. Krystal swung her staff around and the Emissary blocked it, but she followed up spinning attack by swinging low and impacting with the back of his leg. He cringed a little before trying to stab her with both swords.

"This transgression will not go unpunished!" Krystal parried both swords, ignoring the pain shooting through her legs. She punched him square in the face. She sent another mental shock into his mind, this time with images of Light herself kissing for the first time. "Cease your trickery this instant!" he yelled as he slashed at her. Krystal blocked the slashes the best she could, but one slash got through and made a gash on her left shoulder. She bit her lip to keep her mind focused and spun her staff between the Emissary's swords to knock them out of his hands. With his guard down, Krystal jabbed the Emissary's abdomen with the blunt end of her staff, causing him to double over. Then he felt it, the sharp pang of two small blades being driven into where his heart would be, if he had one. He felt vexed and a mix of other feelings that he had not felt before. He lifted his face to look Krystal in the eyes. "What… are you?"

For a moment, Krystal's feature's softened towards him. He looked so much like Light and now he looked like Light on the day of the fight with had with one of his bullies. Scared, alone, and desperate. "I'm the one your other half will call 'Wife.'"

He looked at her with a black expression before cringing in immense pain. His body its lost solid form and turned into white plasma before shooting off into the air like a shining comet. Powerful as he was, without his master to give him more, the Emissary was nothing.

The vulpine princess picked up the dagger that had fallen to the ground and watched the white light fly through the night, knowing exactly where it was going. She just then realized that she saved an unborn Light's life. She also realized that she was the reason why Light didn't look a lot like his parents… and why his young peers didn't treat him like one of their own. She was the cause of his initial pain and later, the cause of his initial joy. They loved each other and the whole ordeal she just went through seemed symbolic to her. If she can save Light before life, then maybe she really can save him after it.

"Are you ready to leave, Krystal?" She turned around to see Klouse behind her. Krystal turned to face away from him and looked at the night sky above.

"Yes, I am."

"I have to warn you. Once you go through with this… you won't come back whole."

"If that's what it takes to get Light back, then so be it." Klouse sighed in spite of himself before opening another door way. "Then walk through this portal. Your last trial is on the other side." Krystal nodded and walked through without looking back.


	26. Krystal's Fragile Heart

**Author's Note: Well I'm sorry for being really late everybody. I meant to get this in a couple weeks ago, but my own procrastination got in the way. that was a mistake, seeing as how my computer got a computer virus and I wasn't able to access the internet for almost another two weeks. So I'm just going to considor this my seasonal break. Initially I had planned on taking a month break anyway, but that was before I decided to try and finish this story before the end of 2010... that didn't happen. But we are getting close to the end of the story. There are two more chapters after this one for this arc and the last arc will be upon us. I've decided to make the last arc only 4 chapters. Yes people, we're that close to the end. Then we'll be at the epilogue and exchanging goodbyes. Thanks to all those who reviewed and keep Reading and Reviewing everyone, it helps with inspiration.**

**To Krazy Kid: Nope, this isn't leading to Kursed. Kursed isn't even a part of the story actually.**

**To Everyone Else: Enjoy the chapter and remember to Read & Review!**

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**Chapter 25**

**Krystal's Fragile Heart**

Krystal traveled together with Clouse through the time/space tunnel to her next destination. She was feeling that same elated feeling again and it washed away leaving behind that same sadness as before. She heard something again, but louder than before. "What was that?" she said, trying to find the source of the sound.

Clouse looked to her for a moment in confusion. "What are you talking about, child?"

"I… thought I heard a voice just now. I faintly heard it before, but I heard it again just now." Clouse didn't know what she was talking about. He looked around and tried to hear something, but he couldn't. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I didn't hear anything." Krystal wondered why that was as the voice faded into nothing. She began to think that she was going mad. Krystal was broken from her thoughts when she heard Clouse yell out, "Look! It's the end of the tunnel." The vulpine straightened herself up and got ready for what might happen on the other side.

Once they came out on the other end, Krystal looked around to inspect their destination. It was night out, but a series of light poles lit up the area brilliantly. They were in a cul-de-sac and snow littered the ground. It was only then that She noticed it was decently cold out, but not horribly so. There were also multi-colored lights strewn about the different houses that were there. This place was familiar to her as well. It wasn't the same déjà vu feeling she had back in that forest, she really believed that she had been there before but couldn't quite put her finger on it. "Where are we, or better yet, WHEN are we?" It wasn't winter back home, but summer. It also looked like it was close to Christmas in this place.

"I'm glad you asked. This is the world you are trying to protect from Malxifel's evil grasp. This is Earth Prime. Within the multi-verse is a common source. Every new idea, book, and video game creates a new world, like the branches of a thousand-year-old tree. Each world that is created creates even more worlds. A universe of infinite possibilities. However, this is the world that holds all of those possibilities together. If this world dies, so does everything else. As for when we are, we are in the near future. Tomorrow is Christmas in the same year as yours." Clouse paused for a moment, almost solemnly when Krystal looked into his eyes. "It's time for me to go. I'll be back when you're finished." Krystal nodded and turned away from the leaving traveler.

Once Clouse phased out of sight, Krystal walked around to explore the area around her and searching for a sign of her target. She turned from house to house for a clue, but one house in particular caught her attention. She examined it closely from near its mailbox. It was a pale red, one-story house and unlike all of the other homes in the cul-de-sac, it didn't have any Christmas lights strewn across the yard or roof. Then she turned to see what the name on the mailbox said. '_Kindley_.' Her eyes widened in realization. This was one of the houses the government offered to give Krystal and Light. This house was one of the two they decided to choose from. In the end, they chose the house they currently owned because the one in front of her was too small for a family.

Krystal started to move in closer but stopped once she saw a light turn on and a figure walked into view. She dashed to the side to avoid being seen and tried to find another place to view what was going on inside. She went around to the other side of the building and found another window to view what looked like the kitchen. The figure sitting at the dining table was Light! Krystal felt all of her senses stop functioning. Seeing him on the other side of the glass gave new meaning to the phrase, 'seen a ghost.'

On the other side of Krystal's view, the Light of Earth Prime was sitting down to his Christmas Eve dinner. It only consisted of a couple slices of ham and some corn he thawed out and made. Krystal watched as he began to silently eat alone. She wondered where everyone else was. She realized that she probably didn't exist in this universe, but she couldn't help but wonder where everybody was at. Weren't people supposed to spend time in the holidays with family? Light ate only a few bites of food at the time, but then he stopped eating suddenly. He had a pensive and sorrowful look about him. He lifted his head up and looked out the window that looked over the cul-de-sac. Across the street, a happy and laughing family could be seen through their window. They were eating dinner together as a family. Krystal turned from the view of the happy people and back to Light. He turned from the family, sighing as he got up out of his seat. He put his silverware in the sink and trashed his practically untouched dinner into the waste bin before leaving the room. He looked pained.

None of this made sense to Krystal. Where was her target? Unless… '_NO?_' she gasped to herself. Was she supposed to kill Light? It all made sense now. Clouse's pitying expression came to mind. A tear cascaded down her face as she realized what it was that she had to do. In order to bring back her Light, she had to murder this one. The light to the kitchen went out, as did the steadiness in her legs as she sobbed slightly to herself.

It looked like the other Light was going off to bed. Once her sobbing stopped, she made her decision and decided to wait for an hour before making her move. She felt disgusted with herself.

One hour passed by slowly. Krystal was cold, but part of her wished she could die of hypothermia before the one hour mark had passed.

The hour passed and Krystal got up from where she had been sitting. She walked back around front and snuck up to the door. The vulpine knew her husbands habits well enough to know that he always kept a spare key hidden under the mat or something. After lifting the welcome mat up and finding nothing, she looked at the side of the steps and found a big rock. She found the key under it and went inside.

Krystal gently closed the door behind her so as not to make any noise. Once she made sure the door was locked and secure, she turned around moved lightly through the living room. She was halfway through when she noticed a gathering of photos around the fireplace. One was of Light and his three infamous companions. Another was Light's prom picture… that only consisted of him. Krystal had a bad feeling about where this was going. The next photo was of Light's parents, and below both faces were two epitaphs. 'Light's parents were dead?' she thought to herself in unbelief. She looked around every photo, but couldn't find any other pictures of family or friends, but only him alone. She decided to rip her eyes away from the foreboding display and continued on into the hallway.

Krystal remembered where the real-estate agent said the master bedroom was, so she bee lined to it as quick as possible. She found the bedroom and cracked it open for a peek through. She managed to spot him from her limited view, but nothing else. Krystal pushed the door open and walked in while gripping the dagger in her hand.

Upon approaching the bed, she noticed something that the photos around the fireplace had indicated. Light was alone in bed. His scent was also the only thing she could sense throughout the house, so she suspected this. The Light of this Earth was truly alone. No parents. No wife. No children. No family to speak of. She shook her head away from the depressing thoughts going through her mind. She had a job to do and she had to do whatever it took to make everything right, even if it meant doing the unspeakable.

Krystal raised the dagger above her head and readied it to stab downward. She hesitated. Before anything else, she examined his features deeply for the first time in what seemed like ages. He was alive before her, breathing rhythmically. She didn't know it, but a loving tear escaped the confines of her eyes and rolled down her furry white cheek, and it fell to his face. The tear splashed on his right eye, causing him to stir and slowly awaken.

The Light before her blinked tiredly and tried to focus on the blurry image he was seeing. Once his eyes had finally adjusted to the darkness, the picture he was seeing became clear. Two erect ears, a tail, and legs that allowed the creature to stand upright like a human. His eyelids flew open with a gasp and his body acted instantly. He bolted upright with a scream and backed himself as far into the wall as he possibly could.

The creature just stood there, watching him. Light was beyond confusion and fright. Even in the dark, he could see the sparkle of life in its eyes using what little light he had thanks to the light posts outside. Then he noticed something else in its eyes but couldn't figure out what. He heard a sob. The creature's body trembled a bit and started to make sobbing sounds again. Whatever it had been holding in its claws had crashed to the floor with a thud. Before he could figure out what to do next, the creature leapt at him.

After a minute had passed by, Light realized that he was still alive. Moreover, the creature that pounced on him had buried its face into his chest and wrapped its arms tightly around his waist. Now he was sure it was sobbing and crying. For what reason, he wasn't sure. Light's arms was freed of its tight embrace and he squirmed his arm far enough to reach the bedroom lamp at the head of his bed. With the flick of a switch, the lamp's light illuminated the room. Blue and white were the colors of the creature that was invading his space. Shock and terror filled his heart to the point where he could have sworn that he just had multiple simultaneous heart attacks. His limbs felt numb and heavy. "It's a furry!" were Light's words utter shock. True enough, although his choice of words was quite the understatement, the blue and white humanoid creature latched onto him was furry indeed. The creature raised its head and locked eyes with his. Talk about a blast from his gaming past. The creature was none other than Krystal, the main Starfox love interest. 'But why on Earth is she…' Before he could finish his thought, Krystal launched her small muzzle at his face and roughly claimed his virgin lips.

He become inebriated under the pleasure he was feeling. He only found himself melting into the increasingly passionate kiss. Then his senses came back to reality. Someone or something that shouldn't even exist was kissing him! Light broke the kiss and put her at arms length away from him as he tried to catch his breath. "Please tell me I'm going mad and this is just a freaky dream?"

Krystal was still recovering from her actions just as he was, not to mention she was trying to figure out what possessed her to just do that all of a sudden. "Believe me, I wish this whole nightmare was as much a dream as it is horrible."

Light caught on to her sorrowful expression but put it aside to simply ask, even if he couldn't quite believe what was in front of him, "Are you… Krystal?" He asked this with uncertainty. Something this amazing, weird, and out of place just didn't happen for no reason. And it was going to take a lot of convincing on his part to really believe what was happening.

Krystal didn't answer right away and she didn't know what words to exchange to this person. He was Light, but yet he wasn't her Light. She hadn't felt that awkward since her first encounter with him all of those years ago. Soon the words just came to her as she found the will to speak. "Yes, I am Krystal… and I'm your wife."The expression on his face went blank with a strange mixture of belief and unbelief. Krystal had to admit to herself that it was cute and very much like her doting husband.

At this revelation, Light began to stutter uncontrollably. "B-But. How? W-When? Wh-y? What in the w-world is going on here?" Krystal cupped his face in her hand and gently shushed him into quieting himself down.

"Don't worry. I'll start from the beginning."

As she spent the next few hours regaling the Light of Earth Prime with the story of her life, Fox and the others watched her from the well. "What is she doing?" Nat complained impatiently. "Don't tell me she's forgotten what she's supposed to do?"

"There is no need for concern," Clouse replied. "She knows exactly what she's supposed to do, but she won't be able to accomplish her mission until she truly learns just what it means to seek from the heart."

Leaving with those words for the small gathering to hang over, Fox asked, "Where are you going?"

"I'm off to my library." Clouse opened a portal for himself and started leaving while responding, "I need to find a few books before Krystal finishes her mission." And he left, leaving the party to wonder what he needed a few books for.

Back on Earth Prime, Krystal had spent the last couple of hours talking with Light. He understandably had many questions for her, as she had many for him. Light could hardly believe what he had heard of himself in the other world. He had a wife, two wonderful children, and his parents are still alive… It was a life Light had lost hope in. After graduating from school, he started working and, after some years passed, he had discovered he would never be able to have a family to replace the one he lost. No girl he had ever known wanted him, so what could he do? All of this, he had told Krystal when she asked him about his life and every word broke her heart. This Light's parents had died in a plane crash on their honeymoon… the same honeymoon that they had returned from when Krystal first revealed herself to the world. He had all but lost contact with his friends. He was practically the embodiment loneliness. Light also developed mental and psychological problems associated with his multiple personality disorder. Krystal burned with rage. No matter where she went, Blitzkrieg was always hanging over her and Light, even this one as well.

As she mulled over all of this, Light continued speaking. "All of my life, it's been like I've had a curse that just won't go away." Krystal couldn't have felt more guilty. She was the one responsible for how this Light's life had turned out. After a couple minutes went by, Light asked the one question she had hoped he wouldn't. "Why are you here?" Krystal's shoulders stiffend and a red flag immediately went up. She hadn't told him about that part of her mission. The only thing she said was that she was going through a test to bring back the Light from her world.

She was only able to choke out, "I-I…" She needed to kill him, but how could she tell him that?

Light knew she was holding something back from him, but he didn't want to force her to tell him. "Never mind. It's alright if you can't tell me, I'll understand." Krystal felt a wave of relief, but she knew it wouldn't last for too long. She yawned and both realized how tired the other was. "You look dead tired. Here you can sleep in my bed." Krystal shook her head and was about to refuse but Light interrupted her and insisted that she sleep in his bed. "Don't worry about me, I can sleep on the living room coach. Let's just get some sleep and tomorrow I'll try to help you as best as I can." Krystal blushed and averted her eyes to his lamp. For a few seconds, this Light looked like the nineteen year old boy she fell in love with.

She nodded, saying, "Thank you." She settled herself into the bed and snuggled into the covers. Light turned off the lamp and tried to walk through the room's exit, but she stopped him with a "Wait. Won't you get in bed as well?" She knew he wasn't exactly her Light, but she longed to be beside something warm and familiar.

Light knew what she was thinking, but he shook his head to say no. "I'm sorry, but I can't. It wouldn't be… proper. I appreciate everything you've done for me though."

"What do mean?"

"I mean, thank you, for letting me now that there is more to this life than just what I see and hear. And thanks for being good to the 'other me.' When you get him back, let him know how lucky he is for me." Krystal said yes and lied down for some much needed rest.

Light left the room and went to the living to sleep. Before that, however, he set his alarm clock for early dawn. The bank was going to be open for an hour so people can make some last minute transactions. This strange event had inspired him to go make a quick transaction himself.

Once the sun had started to rise, Light was awoken by his alarm and shut it off quickly to keep from waking Krystal up. He grabbed his keys and snuck out of the house.

After a short drive, Light got to the bank about twenty minutes before the bank closed. It had snowed and iced during the night while he and Krystal got to know each other, so it took him much longer to reach the bank than it usually does. Light went inside and asked the bank teller to open the vault. With the vault open, Light walked in and searched his key-ring for a key he had thought he would never have the chance to use. He searched for his lock box number and found it. Light unlocked it and his eyes glistened at the container's contents. "It's been a long time since last we met." A gold necklace with a single, tear-drop shaped emerald dangling from the chain. The necklace belonged to his mother and it stated in her will for him to give it to someone special. It was Christmas and he just met his wife from another world. If she wasn't anything any thing special, then he didn't know what special meant.

"EVERYBODY, HANDS ON YOUR HEAD!"

That booming voice came from the front desk and Light could only think, 'Oh dear God, no! Krystal!'

At about that moment, Krystal woke up with a fright. Her breathing was labored and she had a sheen of sweat on her brow. She hadn't felt like that since the night Light was… She couldn't finish her train-of-thought because she instantly felt that something was wrong. Krystal grabbed her staff and almost left the room, but remembered the dagger. It was still lying on the ground, untouched since the night before. Krystal was sure he saw it, but wondered why he didn't take it. She picked it up and stared at it a little before tying it to her person. She went into the living room to check on Light, but he wasn't there. A feeling of dread spread through out her body. She quickly started putting her nose to work. Light's scent was all over the place but there was a fresh trail leading out the front door. Once outside, she found that he had taken his car to drive into town. Light's scent was feint from where she was, but she followed it as far as she could, jumping, and leaping across rooftops. Soon the scent had escaped her senses completely, but she was met with a disheartening sight. A large squad of police vehicles, even a swat car, was gathered outside a bank building. As she move closer to the building, she hoped and prayed Light was okay.

Light and the bank tellers were sitting on the floor, Indian style, and the security cameras had cut wires to prevent any more footage of the robber in front of them to be recorded. The criminal looked over six foot with a gun in his hand, a black snow-mask over his head, and he was clearly crazy seeing as how he had a volley of grenades strapped to his chest with a line connecting all of them to the pinky of his free hand. He must have thought this was the best time to strike since it was Christmas and not as many cops would be on duty. He knew the silent alarm was already activated but seemed willing to risk it.

He shoved a backpack into a blonde girl's arms and order gruffly, "Fill it with as much money as you can put in." The poor girl, terrified out of her wits, did as the man ordered and started shoveling the money into the empty pack. "Yeah, that's good. Keep it coming!"

Light sat there hoping this situation would quickly resolve itself and leave him alone, unfortunately he wasn't very lucky. As the robber watched the girl put the money in the pack, he examined his other hostages from the corner of his eyes to keep a close watch on them. The other girl was a little red head and couldn't be more than 25. She looked like she was on the verge of tears. He liked that, seeing as how she was too panicked to try anything funny. Then he turned his sight to Light. He guessed that Light wouldn't be any trouble, even if he did make a move. Then the robber's eye caught sight of something that was like eye candy. Light's necklace. It sparkled brilliantly in the light and he wanted it. He turned to back to the working teller, "Keep stuffing! And don't you dare try anything you might regret." He added the last part in a deadly whisper, scaring the girl into nodding.

"Yes! Please don't hurt me!"

He walked away from her and up to Light, who felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. "Hey, fella," He called with a grin. "I like your necklace. Let me guess, it's a special Christmas present. It doesn't matter who you were gonna give it to, you gonna have to change the tag to me." He smirked before screaming, "Give it!"

Light hesitated before saying, "Please, you can everything I have! Just please don't take the necklace!" Just him saying that got the cogs running in the robber's mind, and he smiled in an almost ironic way.

The robber laughed, "Well now, look who we have here. Light Kindley! Mr. Misery himself. Begging like a dog at my feet. Now this brings back memories." Light's eyes widened even more than he originally had. The robber knew him and he knew the robber. It was Brad Hemmingway, his old school bully from years long passed. "Now this is a very special treat indeed, it's almost like I'm taking your lunch money all over again. Now hand over the necklace."

Light had given this guy so much of his life when he was teenager, but there was no way he could let Brad have the necklace. He couldn't let this guy sully what the necklace was and symbolized to him. "I can't," Light said, clutching the necklace to his chest.

"I SAID GIVE It!" Brad yelled again, trying to grab at the necklace.

"NO!"

Brad was long passed angry at this point, "THEN DIE ALREADY!"

Brad put the barrel of the gun to Light's forehead, ready to pull the trigger. Before he could, the glass window, that was situated 12 feet off the ground, blew away into shards inside the building. All heads turned and amazement was evident.

Krystal had smashed through the window and glided through the air like a guardian angel. "What the he…" Before he could finish, Krystal, who had been watching the scene from the rooftop of the next building, swung and slammed her staff into Brad's gut. He gasped for air and dropped the gun while Krystal used her claws to cut the string wired to the grenades so she can much more safely throw his body half-way over on the other side of the room. She didn't notice that her maneuver had loosened one of the grenades on his chest from its pin. The girls, although still scared of the new monster in front of their eyes, saw this as their chance to break out into a run and escape.

Krystal didn't really care about the girls or the unconscious Brad on the floor; she only cared about asking Light if he was alright. She wrapped her arms around him, accidentally sending a psychic wave to his mind and he saw something he wasn't supposed to see, but had been suspecting. Light pushed the thoughts he had just seen aside and started to repeatedly assure the vulpine that he was unharmed. While doing that, he noticed Brad coming back to his senses. Before he knew it, Brad pulled out a second handgun that was hidden close to his ankle. He was aiming at Krystal and Light reacted on instinct. He grabbed the gun that had fallen from Brad's grasp and pushed Krystal aside yelling, "WATCH OUT!" Both guns went off, one bullet went right between Brad's eyes, dropping him dead, and the other into Light's right Lung. Krystal only had time to watch the bullet hit Light and make him land painfully on the floor. She ran to him, fear sweeping over her.

"LIGHT!" In her panicked yell, she wasn't able to hear the clang of the loosened grenade on Brad's chest landing on the floor as well and without its pin. A fiery scream howled through the area. Glass and concrete blew out and in the building. Krystal and Light were out of the range of the main blast, but the floor opened up and swallowed them. While falling in, the two blacked out.

Krystal woke up and saw that she was still alive, something to be thankful for. It didn't look like much time had passed, but she couldn't be too sure. Krystal started pushing herself up and found that her bones felt brittle. Her left arm felt numb and she coughed up dust. It looked like they had fallen into the basement and the place was covered in debris. She just then realized that Light had fallen in with her. Krystal called out in the dimly lit room for Light. She heard coughing other than her own and moved straight to its source. Light lied there, bloody and, from the sound of his groans, in great agonizing pain. "Light, open your eyes!" He did so, but weakly.

"Kryst…" He strained to speak, but Krystal put her fingers to his lips.

"Stop. You're going to be okay, Light." She started to sob as she examined his wounds. The cuts on his body looked benign, but his legs were not just broken, they looked like they had been crushed by the falling pieces of concrete. And his bullet wound was so deep, he bleeding profusely. She tried to put pressure on it, but the bleeding only seemed to worsen. "Don't worry, we'll get you to a doctor and…"

"Don't bother…" It was Light's turn to interrupt. "The wound is too deep… I wouldn't even be able to make it to the hospital door." Krystal started to cry, wanting to tell him that he was wrong and was going to be okay, but after looking at how broken his body was she realized that he was right. She hated herself more than ever. She could fling magical balls of fire, read minds, but she can't freaking heal the people she care for? "Aren't you forgetting something?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" she said through her blurring vision.

Light took the dagger at her side in his hand, his grip greatly weakened. "I saw into your mind when you wrapped your hands around me. You came to kill me," He said softly. Krystal gasped and looked away in guilt, unable to say a word. She didn't really believe she had a right to. "Do it." She turned back to him, unable to fully comprehend what he just said.

"Do you have any idea what you're saying?"

He gave her a small understanding smile. "Yeah, and hear me out. I've been alone almost my entire life. It has been one cursed day after another. A Hell that just won't end. I barely had any friends to begin with, but when my parents died, I just distanced myself a little bit more everyday until I was all alone. What I've always searched my heart for a family to call my own." He started having a fit of coughing before continuing what he was saying. "I went to school, got a degree, got a good job, but in the end all of those things don't really count for anything if you don't have someone to share it all with. My searching heart cried out for those things to come, but they never did." Light raggedly lifted his hand to her face lightly caressed her cheek. "You're someone I wish I could have had a chance to be with. The 'other me' is so lucky that he doesn't really know. Here take this, it's a gift."

He handed her the necklace he had came for. "It's beautiful, but what is it?" Tears were still rolling of her cheek, but she had most of her control again.

He laughed brightly for a moment. "Your just going to have to ask him when you get him back. Now, do it."

Krystal's breath hitched, "I don't think I can do it. How CAN I kill someone I love?"

"You have to. Your world, your children, your life, I can't allow such important things to die. I won't allow it! If there is anything I can do to stop everything from ending, then I'll do it." He grabbed the dagger and moved it over to Krystal's hand. He laced their fingers together around the dagger's hilt, holding it just above his heart. "Even if I have to die so the things I love can continue to exist. Please just do me this one favor. Let me see the life I could have had, the life I have always longed for." Krystal couldn't say no, but she did one better. She pressed her lips on to his and kissed him in sorrowful and tearful passion, all the while sending images into his mind.

Light and Krystal's first encounter.

Their first adventure together.

Their first battle together.

Their first kiss together.

Their marriage.

The twins.

And everything else up to that point. He smiled into the kiss, thinking to himself, 'Now THIS is a life worth dying for.' With that final thought, his hand guided Krystal's… and together they plunged the dagger's blade straight into his heart.


	27. The Frozen Voice

**Author's Note: I am very sorry for being so late. When I said my updates would be later than usual this wasn't what I had in mind, but there is a reason for that. In mid-February, my grandmother died and it's been hard on all of us. For the most part, we've just been in a state of shock because of how central she was to our whole family. I only just recently got over it enough to write at my normal eager pace again, so I hope this chapter makes up for it. This version is only slightly edited though, so there will probably be more mistakes than usual. It's late right now, but I'll fix up my mistakes later in the day and release a fully edited and (mostly if not all) mistake free version in the evening. I'm hoping to finish up the second arc by next Tuesday, so let's just see how things go from there. Please READ & REVIEW! It makes writers feel better.  
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Chapter 26**

**The Frozen Voice**

Krystal broke the melancholy kiss, and dared to look down at Light's body. She had to witness Light's demise twice now, but this time it was her hands that were stained with his blood. The dagger's blade was buried deep into his chest. It glowed briefly before she pulled it out. She stared at the bloody blade with intense scrutiny and threw it to the far side of the room, not wanting to touch it. She laid her head on his shoulder and sobbed into the fabric of his shirt, increasing her grip on the necklace in her hand.

Clouse phased into existence next to the dagger and looked upon her anguish with deep sorrow. Clouse didn't say anything, but Krystal noticed his presence anyway. "Please, no more," she said with a tearful whisper. "I don't want to experience any more of YOUR trials!"

He stayed silent. He picked up the Anima Dagger and pulled a rag out of a pocket in his tunic and wiped the blade clean of blood. "It's time for us to go, my Dear."

Krystal raised her head and looked over to him with pleading eyes. Throughout this whole ordeal, she had felt so much anger, but now she just wanted all of it to pass. "There is only a slim chance that this will work, right," she sniffed her nose. She had never remembered crying more in her entire life than she had in just the last few days and she wanted it all to end. She wanted all of the hurting to end.

"Yes, a very slim chance I'm afraid. This has never been done before." Clouse brought the dagger to his face. "The negative and positive energies of Light, before his life and after his death, are right here in this dagger's hilt. All we need to do now is give it to your Light to drink and pray that it works. So are you ready to face the future?"

Krystal turned her gaze down at the dead Light. He gave up his life so they all could have a second chance at defeating Blitzkrieg and Malxifel. Now she had to do her best to see to it that his sacrifice wasn't in vain. She wiped her tears away with her arm and opened them like she had never opened them before. Clouse could see it, there was definitely something different about her. It was visible in the sparkle of her eyes. The old Krystal was gone, and a new Krystal was born. This one wasn't going to stand by, watch, and cry anymore. She wasn't going to take her anger out on other people anymore. She was going to save her husband and her world. "Alright, I'm ready."

Clouse stepped aside and revealed the portal that would take them back to his realm. "Then come, destiny awaits us." Krystal nodded and marched up to the portal's entrance. She looked back only once to see Light's body and silently promised him that no matter what, she would find a way to make things right. Then she walked through, followed by Clouse who had tied the dagger to his side.

The two walked out the other of the portal without any disturbances and Krystal was blindingly enveloped by her brother's protective embrace. "Krystal! I'm glad to see you safe and sound." Krystal pushed herself out of Saber's hug and turned to the others.

"It's about time you made it back here. Sleeping on the so called "floors" of this place wasn't exactly an enjoyable experience," Nat chirped.

Krystal lightly shook her head with a knowing smile and looked at him calmly. "I'm glad to see you too Nathaniel." She walked passed him, leaving the man stunned ad everyone wondering what was up. Krystal had actually used his real name. Not the short hand version or even one of her creepy-crawly renditions. She even felt different around them.

Krystal walked up to Fox, who was becoming a little more nervous as the Cerinian stepped closer to him. "Um… well, welcome back," he said, slightly unsure of what kind of change she had just undergone.

"Thank you. I've already told you this before, but I want you to know that I'm very sorry." Turned back to everyone else, wearing that same regretful smile. "I'm sorry to all of you and especially to myself. I've done nothing but cry lately and my behavior has been brash and inexcusable."

Alex called out to defend her from her own accusations. "You don't need to apologize for that. Light was killed and it would make sense to act a bit too emotional."

The blue fox shook her head in disagreement. "I'm afraid you're mistaken. There is a big difference between being too emotional and just plain reckless. My actions have gotten people thrown into harms way and in some ways… killed, even. And I'm not just talking about only the past few days."

Chris, as well as the others, we're becoming more and more curious about what she was going on about. "What do mean?"

"What I'm trying to say is that I've seen the results of my actions, including the time where I decided to stay after that first great journey, and I haven't taken full responsibility for my choices. My decision to stay in your world is what caused the barriers around it to weaken. The bottom line is that no matter how much growing up I've done in the last ten years, I still have yet to become a responsible adult. I can blame those ghost memories all I want, but It was only because of my childish nature that I allowed those memories of Fox to seduce me. A true and responsible wife wouldn't have allowed such things to progress as they did. That is the kind of wife Light deserves to have, that is the kind of wife I should have been, and that's the kind of wife I'm going to be." The males around her looked astonished. She was still the same Krystal but, from the way she spoke and how maturely she was carrying herself, they could see and feel the change in her.

Clouse put a friendly hand on her shoulder, "Well said, Krystal." The old man turned to address them all. "Are you all now ready to face what the future may hold?" They all smiled with renewed determination, all thanks to Krystal and her new inspiring resolve. Nat, however, still couldn't quite help one of his usual sarcastic remarks, but that's just who he is.

"Probably not, but that's never really stopped us." Clouse grinned and nodded to Krystal's humorous companion.

The old man cradled a few books between his arm and side while stepping aside to reveal one last portal. "Then I suppose it's time for us to make our leave." And the group of adventurers followed behind the traveler, expecting to arrive to the Solomon where Allistor waited for them on the other side. Their expectations weren't met.

While passing through the tunnel for what was supposed to be the last time, Krystal heard that voice once again. This time it was loud and clear to her, as well as to the others. "_Please, free me!"_ the feminine voice cried out. Each person was startled and looked everywhere they could. It sounded like the voice had spoken from every direction.

"Oh God, no. Not more craziness!" Alex exclaimed.

"I wouldn't expect anything less," said Chris with a smirk.

Nat turned to lightly yell at the calmest of their group. "Dude! I know this stuff happens, but why does it always have to happen to us!" Chris only shrugged while Clouse turned to Krystal.

"Krystal, is this the voice you were talking about before?"

Krystal said nothing, but nodded. The voice repeated itself and Fox stood out in front of the others. "I might be going crazy guys, but that voice sounds somewhat… familiar." Fox couldn't help, but feel a tug at the core of his being, pulling him to wherever it was calling from. Before they knew what was happening, the whole group felt something like a whirlwind blowing them out of their way and carrying them off to an unknown destination.

Sabre grabbed his sister and held her close while addressing Clouse. "What the heck's going on, old man."

"I don't know how, but some entity from another world is calling to us. It's pulling us to where it lives, but I don't understand how it's doing this!"

"Well, can't you stop it?" Krystal asked in a panic.

"I'm afraid I can't! I can only open doorways from one end of a tunnel to the other. I have no actual control during the transfer!" Clouse explained in a hurry.

Nat narrowed his eyes at the traveler. "A LOT OF GOOD YOU ARE!"

Clouse ignored his snide remark and stated, "Just hold on to your valuables! This is going to be wild ride!" The group felt like they were falling through an endless ravine. Just as suddenly as they began to fall into the dark abyss, they stopped. They just floated there for only a moment or two, and then their feet touched a floor, from what they could tell. The darkness around them receded and was replaced by an almost completely open world. The ground looked and felt completely crystallized, but radiated with bright reds, pinks, oranges and yellows. The whole sky was an aurora of blues, greens and violets with stars scattered about. What made it not completely open were the large and slowly spinning crystals.

Krystal walked up to one of the crystals and laid her hand on it. She expected it to feel hard and it did, but she also felt something else that was unexpected. A heart beat. She quickly withdrew her hand and turned to the Clouse. "This crystal… has a heartbeat? Clouse, do you know where we are?"

The traveler looked around and turned back to face her, "Yes, I believe I do know. This dimension is an almost inaccessible pocket of space. Just like the Void space, this place is outside of the multi-verse and connected to it at the same time. Just the very fact that we're here is proof enough of how badly damaged the Grand Cross really is. Still, I have to wonder how we got here. Someone or something brought us here of its own will. For that to happen there has to be a bridge or a connection. You were the only one of us to here that entity's voice, so you're the connection."

Sabre followed where Clouse was going with this. "So, we have two questions on our hands. Where is this entity and what's its connection to Krystal?" Clouse nodded, proving Sabre right.

"And the entity we're looking for is somewhere in one of these crystals."

While they were discussing this, no one noticed Fox moving hypnotically to one of the crystals floating in the distance. Chris finally took notice of his actions and alerted the party. "Guys, something is wrong with Fox." Everyone looked to where the orange vulpine was supposed to be and where he was headed.

He was hypnotically approaching a far off crystal. It called to him, but he wasn't hearing its voice with his ears, but rather his heart. "_Please, free me!_" he heard again.

"I'm coming," he said softly. Just as he feet stopped moving, the others were right there beside him. "I heard it again." Fox put his hand to the crystal and felt its heartbeat, but he could have sworn he felt his own as well. He turned to Clouse for an explanation. "Clouse, what kind of place did you say this was again?"

Clouse looked Fox in the eyes and placed his sight on the crystal before them. "This world is like a holding place for those who have been forgotten and forsaken by time and space. However, a 'prison' is a much better way to describe this place and the inmates within it."

Fox, as well as everyone else, were getting frustrated. "Then tell me, why this 'prisoner' is calling out to me and Krystal! When I touched that thing and heard its voice, I could practically swear up and down how familiar it feels to me!"

Clouse took another long look at the crystal before responding. "That's because, in a life that you had, but lost at the same time, this person was a part of your life."

Fox couldn't completely follow, as his mind was beginning to feel like a wreck. "But… how's that even possible."

"Don't look at me for your answer, look at Krystal." Fox did as he was told and he began to understand. "You mean to say…"

"Yes. Over a decade ago, Krystal was taken out of her element and into another dimension. The fact that she didn't return changed the almost the whole history of your life. This resulted in a paradox shift, creating an extraordinary amount of paradox energy as time went on. But guess what, she was only the second person in your universe to be taken. In actuality…, Krystal was the one who had unknowingly taken their rightful place."

Krystal's mouth dropped in shock. "What, that's just so… preposterous! I stole someone else's place in life!"

"Yes, preposterous indeed, but it all makes sense now. I believe I'm beginning to understand everything now. And I have a hunch about who is in there, and why they brought us here. If we free this person from their bondage, then not only would we be saving them from eternal limbo, but we'll also be able to repair most of damage that has been done to the Grand Cross. We may even be able to stop Malxifel ice cold in his tracks, cutting off the Void dimension completely from the Grand Cross."

Fox was getting freaked out by this whole scenario, but also strangely anxious. It was obvious to him that this person was special to him, even though he never actually knew them…, as far as he knew anyway. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's open the thing up!"

"Hold on a moment," Clouse interrupted. "Listen, Fox. In order to open this crystal, we need a lock and a key. Your mind, Fox, is the lock. You know this person deep inside of yourself, on the other side of your heart and mind. To open that lock, we need to use the key, and the key is Krystal."

Krystal could sense his uneasiness as his eyes landed upon her. "And let me guess," she asked. "There's a problem with that, right."

The old man nodded. "Freeing this prisoner requires a sacrifice on your part. If you decide to help this person, their history will override your own in Fox's universe and every subsequent universe that is remotely related. This includes Light's world. Your history, as well as your families, will be changed in some manner. The more likely scenario, people will forget where you came from and another version of your origin will take its place in their minds. You will also forget the ghost memories you have of Fox and your other life, because once this person is free, it'll be their life to live once again. However, you will get to keep your memories of your adventures, with varying differences to suit the new history. The change will be spontaneous and seamless, but are you willing to give up real memories for fake ones?"

The question he posed was a deafening one. After hearing all of that, everyone wondered and waited eagerly for Krystal's answer.

Krystal's head was lowered and her eyes where covered by her shining, blue hair. "… I'll do it," she murmured.

"Are you sure about this, my dear. What is done won't be undone afterwards. It'll be multi-versal law."

"Yes, I'm sure. I've got what I was looking for, so I don't care what happens afterwards. All I want is for my family to be together again. Even if people forget me, as long as I have my family, I'll be happy. And if I can help prevent Light from having an encounter with Malxifel, then all the better. Having all of these adventures is amazing, but I would trade it all away for a normal family life."

Clouse nodded and accepted her decision. "In that case. Stand next to Fox and place your hands on the crystal and concentrate. Do all you can to get in touch with this person."

"Alright." She walked up to stand next to Fox with everyone watching intently. The concept of loosing your memories was unimaginably hard to understand for them, but it was Krystal's decision to do this. They just had to trust that she was making the right decision.

The two vulpine nervously touched the crystal with both hands and attempted to clear their minds. They concentrated only on trying to reach the one pleading for their help. They stared deep into the cold abyss with their minds and found a figure clouded in the shadows of the dark. "_You came for me? Even knowing what will happen?_"

Krystal felt she should speak for both of them. "Yes we did. I know what's going to happen to all of us, but I feel that this is the right thing to do. I'm sure that no matter what happens, everything will be alright in the end. Right, Fox?"

Fox smiled to her in agreement. "Yeah. Whatever may come, good or bad, we'll all take it head on together. Now, friend, let's get you out of here." They could tell that the figure nodded in understanding and started moving closer to them.

Krystal smiled and held out her hand for the figure to take it. "So, do you have a name?"

The mystery person took the offered hand and shook it lightly, but heartily. "_My name is Phoenix…, Fara Phoenix._" With that hand shake, Fox and Krystal's minds returned to their normal state and all eyes watched as the crystal glowed brilliantly and shattered. They averted their eyes from the light. Once it faded away, they looked into the jade eyes of someone who gave ghost memories to Fox and sent wave of electricity up and down his spine like nothing before. He was mesmerized by the sheen of her chestnut brown fur coat. It complimented her eyes and violet jumpsuit, with the jumpsuits lime green leggings and matching scarf adding a sort of spark to her visual personality. Her tail was fluffy and ended at her knees, the tip pointing to her steel boots. The tan mini-vest around her shoulders giving her a sense of professionalism. She merely stepped forward, her delicate curves naturally following her body's rhythm. "Hey there Fox, I think it's time we got out of here. Don't 'cha think." With the exception of Clouse, they all just stared at her, not really knowing how to react to this fennec beauty.

One word rushed through Fox's addled mind as his eyes roamed every inch of her. _'…Woof…_'

Elsewhere, Dusk and Dawn were holding on strong, given the circumstances. In front of them, Blitzkrieg sat in his throne with the Star Wolf team at standing at his side. He had said nothing since returning to the throne room. He did have a weird confident smile that made him look like he had just spent the past several hours torturing millions all at once. In a sickening twist, that was one thing he wanted to accomplish. His mechanized servant approached him, bowed his head and knelt. "Sire, the inter-dimensional portal is ready."

"And what about the dimensional separator?"

"It is being prepped now. According to our calculations, it'll be ready in a matter of hours."

Blitzkrieg smirked madly, showing off his jagged fangs in his smile. "Good. Then it's finally time to begin." Blitzkrieg stood from his throne and held out his open hand. His staff materialized in his palm and used it as a walking stick as he moved to the balcony out in front. As soon as he stepped out, every mechanical golem below him looked up to listen to what their dark master had to say. "My army of darkness, our time has finally come! For years we have bided our time, waiting for the time to strike. Now is the time to unleash the dogs of war and plunge the Earth and Cerinia in darkness. MY EVERLASTING DARKNESS!" A layered roar filled the air, revealing the voice of the army that was ready to devastate everything the twins held dear. Blitzkrieg retreated back to his throne and sat back down. "Wolf, prep your team for combat. I want you at the head of my invasion force."

"Got it. Team, follow me." Wolf and his relieved team left to go get their ships ready, leaving the twins alone with the enemy.

"I hope you enjoy your front row seats to the end of the world."

Dusk felt a wave of courage rush through him and gave him the nerve to be defiant. "Just you wait. With all of your robot men out there, you're by yourself and totally unprotected."

Blitzkrieg laughed at the child's sudden defiance. The children's naivety amused him to no end. "I don't need protection. I control the greatest power in all of the universe, or rather I will…" He laid his sinister eyes on the children and uttered a foreboding sentence. "… once I'm through with you."


	28. Together Forever

**Author's Note****: again, sorry for the long wait. Almost two months ago, I decided to just go ahead and finish my current semester before getting back to this because of how close tests and exams were to each other. I just finished the semester, so I can now concentrate on this and the other things I've been meaning to do. With this chapter down, this arc ends and the real action will begin with a huge bang in the final four chapters of the last arc. Well, anyway, please enjoy and be sure to READ and REVIEW! I'll frame the reviews along with my A&B honor roll. **

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**Chapter 27**

**Together Forever**

After freeing Fara from her crystallized prison, Krystal watched as the fennec fox raced over and embraced Fox. They stared into each other's eyes and began to laugh spontaneously. Krystal was happy that Fox finally had someone to be with. It was bittersweet though. As they continued to stare and speak softly and lovingly together, Krystal was reminded of Light. Her mission wasn't finished yet. It wouldn't be finished until she had her arms wrapped around a living Light and whispering her tearful "sorry" into his ears.

Krystal felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to Clouse. "Are you ready to leave, my dear?"

She shook her head. "No. Let's give them some time to introduce each other and get her up to speed. As soon as we get back, we need to get Light back and tell the others about Blitzkrieg's army." Clouse nodded and took away his hand. He knew that she was eager to have her husband back; back at least the wait would be worth while… if the collected energy from the Anima Dagger works.

Across from Clouse and Krystal, Fara and Fox were sat on the strange ground, getting to know each other, partly from the new memories they shared. Fara Phoenix, the Cornerian test pilot and, by all accounts, Fox's first love. They talked about the past that might have been, about what Fox had been doing before this big adventure began, and about the life they could have together. "We are kinda strapped for cash at the moment, but when we finish up and get the money, how about we go somewhere nice together."

Fara smiled mischievously. "Like… one of the resorts on Aquas."

"How about the best resort on Aquas," he winked.

"Sounds perfect to me." Fara then drew the conversation away from being about them to about the people around them. "So, what's the story with some of these guys? I've never seen any of their kind before." Fox knew he had a lot to say about these people, so he condensed as much information he could and told her about what kind of journey the Starfox team was having with these guys, although he was hesitant to talk about Krystal and his history with her, he told Fara everything he could fit in a limited amount of time. Fara wasn't too happy about what she heard from him, but understood that their history was the past. She didn't feel jealous of Krystal either. Rather, she felt remorseful for her unjust loss and inspired by said woman's determination to get back the one she loves. Anyone who truly loves someone would do the same, but the length Krystal would go was unprecedented. Fara was especially grateful that the Cerinian gave her the chance to live and love. Fara owed Krystal her life, and she was going to help pay her back someway and somehow.

Back inside the Solomon's lab, Allistor and Lindsey had been monitoring the gateway, waiting for other's return. The two were in fear of what might have happened to them. They should have been gone for only half a day, but it had been nearly two days. They were back on Cerinia and they had three teams working around the clock. One was hard at working in studying the mech, another trying to figure out how to keep it's occupant safe from it's life draining affect, and another looking out for Void. The two received regular reports on all three on an hourly basis, and the results they kept getting were the same.

Nothing.

Neither team had been able to figure a single thing out on what the mech is capable of or what to do about the affect it has on the user. The Void weren't even making a move either. That scared him above all else. The Void had been quiet sense the battle in Atlantis. That was only a single armada of Void and not necessarily an army. He was sure they would have attacked by now. Make no mistake, he was glad they hadn't attacked yet, considering they also might have Blitzkrieg to deal with, but he certainly didn't like how quiet they were being.

"Don't worry. I'm sure they're alright."

Allistor broke out of his reverie and noticed what Lindsey just said. "No it isn't that, but I do wonder how they're all doing, though?"

"Well, you know Krystal. When she sets her mind on something…" Before she could say anymore, a portal opened up before them. The first thing they noticed was an old man with a dagger in one hand and a satchel in the other. Allistor didn't hesitate to put himself in between the old man and Lindsey. After readying himself to fight a possible Void soldier, Krystal and the other's leapt out of the portal with the old man and a fennec newcomer.

Krystal grabbed Allistor by the shoulders and asked him urgently, "Allistor, where's Light?"

The man had a bewildered expression about him, but answered the question anyway automatically. "He's in the cryo chambers at the moment, but we can have his body defrosted in about half an hour."

She nodded. "Alright, we'll meet you in the infirmary." And then they all began to leave for the destination Krystal chose.

"But wait! What in the world happened to you, guys?"

Lindsey then voiced right after her husband, "We've been worried sick over you all!"

"There's no time to explain right now," Krystal called back. "Just call everyone you can and get them here before Light's body gets to the infirmary."

Allistor tried to tell Krystal about what happened to the twins, but they and the new arrivals were already out of sight. He figured that Krystal was probably just trying to save for time, so he grabbed at his waist for the communicator to make sure he gathered everyone available. He just wasn't sure how Krystal was going to react to hearing about the kid's kidnapping. The thought of not being able to protect them sickened him. He could only imagine how Krystal is going to feel when she found out they were with… _him_.

In very little time at all, everyone had been gathered together in the infirmary. Light's and Krystal's parents were glad to have the others back. Krystal's parents had missed her and Sabre, while the Kindley's were praying that the Cerinian princess brought with her the hope that they were all seeking.

Falco and Slippy were glad to have their 'fearless leader' back and were pleasantly surprised to see the cute vixen standing next to Fox. "Well, now," Falco stared at the fennec fox, impressed. "So where did you find this beauty, Fox?"

Fara laughed at Falco's usual antics. At least he acted his usual self, as usual as her memories could recall. "It's nice to see you as well, Falco."

"You too,… Fara? Wait a minute, I know your name? But I've never seen yo…" Clouse was surprised, but kept it to himself. The change he had told the others about was supposed to be instantaneous, but rather it looked as if the process was slowed drastically. From what he could gather, as long as Krystal and Fara were in the same universe, the resetting wouldn't be fully complete. Clouse was sure there was more to it than that. He had to guess that the damage to the Grand Cross was far more extensive than originally thought. It wasn't something one can just gauge at a moment's notice. Clouse also suspected that Malxifel was at least partly responsible for this unexpected turn of events. In fact, he was sure of it. That demon was close to making its move.

Fox felt the same way as Falco and Slippy when he first locked eyes with Fara. Ghost memories like the ones he got when they encountered Krystal flowed through his mind, although he was sure that he was supposed to forget those. They were blurrier than before, now that he thought about it. More than that though, he finally had a love to call his own. That thought depressed the vulpine. After doing all of the things he had done to Light, he was going to have to get his apology in along with Krystal's. Memories of the female test pilot with the black and orange arwing filled his mind. Just then, Fox noticed that his team was short by one. "Hey guy's, where's Peppy?"

The two looked at each other and shrugged and Slippy answered for them. "We're not sure. He said he was going back to Corneria to get a little help, but he hasn't come back yet." Hearing that conversation reminded Krystal of the other reason as to why she had gathered everyone together.

"Alright everyone, listen up." She paused to make sure her audience of friends, comrades, and parents gave her their full attention. "When we went on reconnaissance and were looking for a potion for Light, we stumbled on to Blitzkrieg's cita…"

"HOLD EVERYTHING!" A Cerinian guard had run into the room, huffing and puffing.

"What is it?" Randorn ordered.

"You're Highness! The sky is just… opening up!"

"What?"

Leonidas then heard his comm. link start beeping erratically. He brought it to his ear and asked, "Bridge, report."

"Captain, were detecting a time/space shift outside of the Cerinian atmosphere." Leonidas asked for a visual on the infirmary monitor and they all stared, some paralyzed with fear, at the dimensional portal opening up.

Out in open space, a hole in the fabric of space and time opened up. In the expanse of blackness, a ring filled in by angry hues of red and orange grew to the size of earth's moon. A grand armada of black and violet ships, in all shapes and sizes emerged from it. The flag ship at the center of the fearful enemy force was great, not only in the size, but also in firepower. The ship resembled a giant, upright, black gear cog with canons and turrets covering the teeth of its rims. The center of the ship was hollow like a gear, but there was surely a reason for it with the rest of the offending ship's wicked design.

Inside the approaching black fortress, Wolf O'Donnel smiled to himself, satisfactorily. He'd never been apart of an event as big as what he was currently undertaking. He still wasn't sure of Blitzkrieg's true motives, or why he was even invading a universe that was physically unreachable to him, but he was feeling nostalgic. Somewhere out in front of him on Cerinia were the Great Fox and the ace pilot it was named for. Blitzkrieg's armada was ready and getting into position while their own personal fighters waited for them in one of the Sprog's many hangers. The only thing they were waiting for at that point was Blitzkrieg's attack order.

Krystal and the others watched while their hearts sunk. She had hoped that they had more time to warn everyone. She probably could have alerted them earlier when they first arrived back from their inter-dimensional detour, but her mind was on other things and she wasn't thinking straight to begin with. Not a minute sooner, some nurses rushed into the room where everyone was gathered and wheeled Light's thawing body into the room.

Everyone's attention darted from the invading enemy to the one everyone had really gathered for. Just seeing the lifeless body sparked an array of emotions in all of them and fueled the rage of others. Light's friends and family had vowed in their hearts to make Blitzkrieg pay for what he had done, especially Krystal and Fox. Krystal for taking away her beloved husband, and Fox for manipulating him to commit murder. There were more pressing matters at hand though, instead of mourning over past actions.

Clouse unscrewed the bottom of the dagger's hilt and pulled out two vials to give to Krystal. The white vial contained the positive energy and the black vial held the negative.

This was the moment of truth.

Clouse had said that this method was a chance, but not a guarantee. Still, she moved over to the corpse with vials in hand as the others watched and hoped. She knew that she shouldn't at a time like that, but she paused and searched everyone's eyes.

They said nothing, but silently urged her on. Light's mother had tears freely flowing down her cheeks. It was only then that she realized she was doing the same. She carefully poured the contents of both vials down Light's throat and waited. Seconds passed by and they prayed for his return, especially in their most desperate of hours. Krystal's tears slid down he cheeks, falling onto his eyelids… and they twitched.

In a sharp jerk, Light's eyes flew open and his body regained its pink flesh color. He bolted over with dilated eyes and a sweaty brow. He started coughing hysterically and everyone looked on with a mixture of shock and unspoken happiness. Light eventually stopped most of his coughing and gasping and waited for his eyes to adjust. Krystal didn't wait for such an adjustment. She threw herself at him and cried into his shoulder. Just by reflex, Light's hand came up to the back of her head and he softly stroked her cobalt locks. Then Krystal finally got to say what she had been wanting and needing to say for too long. "…I'm sorry…" She began to choke and sob harder than she had at the funeral. She really didn't want to cry so she could prove she was a changed person, but her love for him was just overflowing to the point where she couldn't contain her tears. "I am just so sorry. I wasn't able to be the wife you needed. I'll understand if you never want to see me again, but I just want you to know that I love you, and I'll never love any other man more than you."

It was quiet in the room and he hadn't said a word. His dilated eyes returned to a normal state and he slowly turned his head see Krystal's face for the first time of his new life. "…And I love you like nothing else in this world. And no matter what you say, I'm never going to let go of you ever again." He said this softly as the two stared into each others with a loving smile that only marital bliss can prescribe.

"We're glad to see you back Bulby."

Light couldn't help but grin at the old nickname. "And I'm glad to see you guys as well."

Light and Krystal locked eyes once again and found themselves alone together, figuratively and literally thanks to Leonidas leading everyone outside of the room to give the two some much needed time alone. Their outlook was looking desperate, but at least they had a loved one returned to them.

Outside of the room, Allistor looked to Leonidas and asked, "So, what do we do now?"

"We fight," the Captain said smoothly as he started walking. Allistor rushed through the others to get back to the Captain's side.

"Fight? Sir, do we even have the resources to fight? If we use up all of our resources to fight Blitzkrieg, will we even be able to fight Malxifel?"

"If we're lucky, we might not even have to fight Malxifel. There is no telling when and if that creature will cross over into our world. However, the only choice we even have at the moment is to stave off Blitzkrieg's fleet and hopefully keep the paradox damage from spreading. We've already managed to determine that Krystal's portal causes damage to the Grand Cross. The serpent Void proves that. The longer Blitzkrieg's portal is open, the more damage it will do as well. The best thing course of action is to come up with a counter attack plan, rescue the twins, and destroy that portal. Has Krystal asked about her kids?"

Allistor shook his head. "No, not yet. She probably thinks they're still in the palace waiting for her and Light to pick them up."

"Good. If she asks, I want you to let her keep thinking their safe in the palace."

"And if she finds out the truth?"

"Detain her and Light. I've already talked with the Kindleys and the King and Queen, and they agree with my decision on the matter. This war is going to get deadly in a hurry and we don't need the two of them putting themselves in reckless danger. This goes especially for Light. We can't lose him in case the Void attack again." The two then arrived at the Captain's quarters. Leonidas opened the door to go in, but stopped in the doorway to ask, "Krystal doesn't know about the effect the mech has on its user, does she?" Allistor shook his head. "If you have to detain her, please tell her that for me. If she and Light know what's at stake, they'll be more likely to cooperate with us, hopefully."

"Got it." Allistor watched the Captain enter his living quarters and left to join the others. What neither he nor Leonidas noticed though, was the spy listening to them from around the corner. Once the spy noticed Allistor coming back to join to join the crowd, they thought it best to do the same before Allistor regrouped with the rest.

Allistor got back to everyone waiting outside the room Krystal and Light occupied. Randorn and the other Cerinians had already left by the time he got back, more than likely to get the Cerinian royal fleet mobilized for combat. Allistor knocked on the door for permission to enter, just so he wasn't interrupting anything important. He heard a 'Come in,' and opened the door with everyone else that was left filing in after him.

Krystal sat in a chair beside the bed Light lied in, with her hand gently holding his. Light looked more well from what the others could tell. He was exhausted though, and maybe a little addled. His brow no longer had that sheen of sweat, so that was a good sign.

The two were joyful to finally be reunited with each other. They had spent their time alone together holding hands, giving each other gentle kisses, and just bathing in the moment, despite what was close to happening. The only thing that could make the moment even sweater was having their children with her. Krystal noticed Allistor and the others and asked, "Allistor, can you go get the kids? I want to surprise them."

Krystal was just glowing inside and out. Allistor, on the other hand, was getting nervous in a flash. He knew she would ask that particular, but he didn't think she'd ask this quickly. He had to come up with something quickly to buy some time. "Sure, I'll go get them after they've finished eating their…"

"He's after them!" a light gasping voice interrupted. All eyes flashed to the doorway. Joel stood in the door way, using the frame as a crutch while he heaved his lungs out.

"JOEL!" everyone yelled in surprise.

"Blitzkrieg's after the kids," he gasped. "He's going to kill…" Before he could finish what he was trying to say, Joel passed out on the floor.

"What did he just say," Krystal demanded. "Allistor, where's the kids?"

Allistor sighed to himself. "The truth is Krystal, The kids aren't here. Blitzkrieg sent Andross to kidnap the kids. We weren't around to protect them then. I'm sorry."

Fox gave a pointed look at Falco and Slippy for an explanation. "We got world of it when he found that armor thing. We managed to send that monkey packing, but he had already delivered the kids to that red-eyed freak by the time we met up with him." The avian and frog pilot weren't at fault for what happened, but they felt disappointed with themselves none the less.

"We've got to go after them!" Krystal and Light couldn't believe what they were hearing. Blitzkrieg had taken Dusk and Dawn and, if Joel's warning was right, he was going to kill one of them.

Allistor was slightly prepared for this, thanks to Leonidas, but he knew this was not going to end well. "Yes, we are going to get them back, but you're not." Everyone in the room started listening intently to Allistor's next words, mostly because they might be his last. Most know not to stand in the way of a mother The Kindleys already had an idea of what he was going to say, and they agreed with his and Leonidas' decision, even though they didn't really like it. They wanted their grandchildren back as soon as possible, but they also wanted to keep the whole family together. "We're going to break through the enemy's defenses with the Solomon and send a team in to rescue them. We don't know it'll take us to do that, but we need to keep you two detained here." Krystal just slowly shook her head as she couldn't believe what was coming out of his mouth. "Listen, if you two were to go out there and get killed, there'd be no one to pilot the Forlorn Knight mech we found on Mars. And Light, there's a problem you need to know about the armor. We're working around the clock to fix this problem as soon as possible, but when and if you have to get inside that thing, it'll use up every bit of life force you have." Light and Krystal's shock was tangible. "We're going to try and stop Blitzkrieg's advance as quickly as we can. We're hoping to get rid of portal and keep the Grand Cross from getting too damaged so that hopefully we can keep you from getting into that death trap. Well, I hope you'll understand." Allistor directed everyone out of the room, with the exception of Light and Krystal, and carried Joel out of the room. Outside, he set the electronic lock on the door to lock the two in.

When the door was closed, Krystal tried to force the door open, eventually resorting to kicking it as hard as she could. "It's no use. Allistor locked us in," she announced." She trudged over back to her seat next to Light and the two inside were staring out into space, wondering what was going to become of them and their kids.

Light had only just woken up from the big sleep, but was already floored by every frightening word that passed through his ear. "Krystal, what's been happening around here?" Krystal could tell he was almost afraid to ask, but went and started to explain everything, if only to pass the time. The only thing they really cared about though was the safety of their children.

Less than half an hour later, the Solomon and the whole of the Cerinian royal fleet were exiting Cerinia's outer atmosphere to go meet Blitzkrieg's armada. King Randorn, his wife, and Sabre commanded their fleet of traditional blue and white fighter ships from their flatbed-shaped flag ship. P.O.U.R. HQ had even sent a large fleet of modified saucer ships, specially fitted from Area-51, out to meet them for this war of the worlds.

Watching a huge viewing screen from his black throne, Blitzkrieg looked on with amusement at the combined defense forces of Earth and Cerinia. Their numbers were laughable to him. His forces outnumbered theirs, four-to-one. He then heard Wolf's voice over the came thru the air. "We're in position for attack. Waiting for orders."

Blitzkrieg stood up and turned to the imprisoned children. "This is it kids. Say goodbye to all of your friends. I promise you'll be joining them and your parents soon enough." Before he could give the command, Wolf's voice interrupted him, and it sounded like there was trouble.

"Blitzkrieg, we've got a problem here! Enemy reinforcements are coming out of a portal!"

Blitzkrieg narrowed his slit eyes. "What?" he whispered in real surprise.

He watched on as a massive fleet of fighters and battleships came into view. "I can't believe it! It's the whole darn, Cornerian army."

The Cerinians and people of the Solomon watched the unexpected army surround them and waited for them to identify themselves, wondering if they were friend or foe. Fox and his team were on the Solomon command bridge and the smiles on their faces said it all. "Peppy, please tell me that's you."

"Ten-four old pal." Shout's of joy erupted from anyone who heard the hare's voice "I even brought General Pepper and every last Cornerian pilot I could find. We managed to convince the Cornerian Council that this battle was one that we couldn't afford to lose, especially if we're this involved. It looks like we made it in the nick of time too, huh Fox."

Fox nodded, "I'll say. Now we can give this Blitzkrieg a real run for his money."

Falco pumped his fist into the air and yelled out, "Finally! Time to kick that red-eyed freak's murdering behind!"

Fox was getting excited. He knew this was going to be their most dangerous endeavor, but the ace pilot inside of him was aching to be let loose. "Alright gang, time to fly!" With that, Falco, Slippy, and Fara ran out the room with their leader. Once they were alone in the hall, Fox stopped abruptly, forcing his followers to skid to a halt.

"Fox, what's wrong," Fara asked, worried about the way he was checking the halls around them.

"Don't worry, I'm fine, but Slippy, do you still have that decoder device you were going to take apart?"

"Yes?" the amphibian answered.

"Good, follow me. I'll explain on the way."

Back at his castle, Blitzkrieg stared at his screen in disbelief. Their forces now rivaled his own. His head silently lowered to where his face couldn't be seen. "This is Wolf, have any ideas." For no explainable reason, Blitzkrieg started laughing. It came out small at first, but it wasn't long until he had his thrown back in mad hysteria. "Blitzkrieg?" Wolf wondered if this little surprise made the tyrant mental state crack.

"They think they actually stand a chance against me?" Then he started laughing harder and maniacally. "Then let them come. I'll gladly welcome them all into Hell's fiery embrace. Wolf, DESTROY THEM ALL!"

With Blitzkrieg's words, chaos ensued. Both sides fired initialed blasts at each other and the losses began.

Krystal and Light watched the battle through their observing window, not knowing what they can do. Light wished he could change more freely like his friends could, but he knew he was different from them. His powers weren't nearly as accessible as everyone else's. Krystal had told him of her journey to bring him back, and the word 'impressed' didn't begin to describe what he thought of her. He loved her so much knowing that still loved him the same way lifted an incredible burden off his heart and soul. He thought he had lost her to Fox, and that was the one time he was glad to be wrong. Krystal watched the deadly display with him, and remembered that she had something that belonged to him in his pocket. She pulled it out and entwined her hand with his and gave him the round object.

Light looked down at his hand and opened it up to reveal his wedding band. He lifted his face up to meet hers. "I found it on the floor. You probably dropped it when you saw… you know." He nodded silently, proving that he had witnessed her betrayal. "Light, when I lost you, that was the darkest day in my whole life. All of our lives, really. I want you to know that when I found that ring, I kept it with me at all times. It reminded me that I had a family to fight for, but now Dawn and Dusk are out there and we can't even do a thing about it." Light brought Krystal's head to his shoulder and held her within his arms.

"Krystal, I promise we'll get them back. One way or another, we'll get them back and be a family again." After a moment of silence and being close to one another, the two heard a small electrical sound outside the room and their door swung open.

"I hope you're ready to live by what you just said, Light, because we're going to escort you to the citadel." Fox and his team stood before them.

Fara looked the blue vulpine in the eyes and told her, "Krystal, you saved my life and we're going to help you save your kids. After that, the two of us are square."

Krystal beamed a bright smile at the fennec fox. "Thanks, I really don't know what to say, but thanks!"

"Come on, before someone catches us." Light and Krystal didn't hesitate to follow the Starfox team through the Solomon's halls, dodging the security, and escaped into the attached Great Fox. They all made it into the hanger, where they found Nat, Chris, Alex, and Clouse.

"Guys, your helping us too?"

Chris smiled with one of his 'I'm going to rule the world' smiles. "Yeah, why wouldn't we?"

"We've also got family waiting for us, Bulby. The sooner we ram Blitzkrieg's face into the concrete, the sooner we can get back to them."

Alex smiled along with the others. "And besides, as far as we're all concerned, we're family. When someone messes with any one of us or our families…"

The three friends of Light glowed in their separate colors and emerged from the glow with the knight armor that was individual between them. Chris then finished what Alex was trying to say. "The others come together to help one another."

"Birds of a feather, flock together, man," Nat shrugged.

Light and Krystal were genuinely touched to know that they had true friends who cared about them. "Hey," They directed their attention to Falco, who was already in the process of getting into his arwing. "I realize this is a touching moment in all, but I seriously think this is neither the time nor the place for it."

"Falco's right," Slippy agreed. "We've got to get going. Krystal, Light, we've got a special two-seater over that'll help you get through that portal." Krystal nodded.

Fox then went into one of his leader modes. "Alright, you two get in and the rest of us will keep those star fighters off your back. Just concentrate on getting through that portal and nothing else. Now, go."

They all began getting into their ships, but Light and Krystal were stopped by Clouse, who wanted to give them one last bit of advice. "Listen Krystal, no matter what happens from here on out, you must remember the new you."

"Got it," she nodded. "I promise we'll come all come back together." Then she and Light got into their ship.

Except for Light's friends, who fired up the afterburners built into their backs, they all flew out of hanger, heading into an uncertain battle.

Back at Blitzkrieg's castle, the fiend himself sat in his seat watching the lights of death spread and destruction spread across the screen. War was a sweat taste to his visual senses. Without warning, his robotic servants marched into the room pulling a large device behind them. It was a floating platform with a black arch on top. On the top inside of the arch, two spikes, one on the right and one on the left, pointed inward. Another servant of his brought another device. This wrapped up contraption was tall, standing a foot taller than Blitzkrieg, but it was thin like a steel bar. Blitzkrieg unraveled the device from its bindings, to seemingly reveal a steal staff. The head of the staff resembled an open-mouthed dragon skull. Then his malevolent eyes fell on Dusk, who floated next to his twin sister. "And now the real fun begins." Blitzkrieg tapped the bottom of the supposed staff on the ground, making the skull's eye sockets glow red like his own. Out of the mouth shot out a red curved blade. This was no staff, but an energy scythe. The children stiffened and couldn't find even the bravery to scream for help. Blitzkrieg pointed a finger specifically at Dusk and stated with an evil smirk, "In a little over ten minutes… you will die."

**End of Arc-2**


	29. A Mother's Love and a Father's Rage

**Author's Note****: I'm back and I'm here with the third and final arc to the story. With this chapter out of the way, and I think this is the biggest and longest chapter yet, we're only 3 more away from the ending. But, boy, this chapter is almost like having the last chapter in this arc first. Well, the name of the arc says it all. It was really the best name I could think of to explain these last four chapters in a nutshell. I know most of you just got out for summer vacation and I hope this chapter will be a great start to it. Well, be sure to READ & REVIEW! It empowers me with the ability to work harder and faster!**

**!Music Alert!****: Okay, the first song for the first part of the chapter(you'll know it when you see it) is called "With Me" by either All Ends or Crush 40(either band is good, they sing the exact same song, only a little differently from each other). The song for the second pert is called "God in Fire" from the Final Fantasy Dissidia Duodecim OST(The song lyrics and music to this one is absolutely perfect, enough said). **

* * *

**Arc-3: Escalation**

**Chapter 28**

**A Mothers Love and a Father's Rage**

Light and Krystal flew straight through the battle field, not pausing or changing direction for anything. Thanks to Starfox and Light's friends, they didn't have to. Any dark star that tried targeting them was met with a quick end, if not from an arwing blast, then it was slashed or shot at with Atlantean weaponry.

"Don't worry, guys," Fox reassured. "I swear I'll get you two to that citadel. I swear it." Fox put his heart into those words. This was his chance to truly redeem himself for what he had done in the past and he was not going to let this chance slip away. They all flew into the path of a battleship with dark stars guarding it. "You two keep pushing through. We'll get this tin can out of your way."

"Right," Light and Krystal replied together. Fox and the others accelerated ahead, shooting down any enemies in their sights. After they cornered some dark stars closer to the battleship, Fox gave a signal to the others. "Fire!" Aligning themselves together, they all shot homing smart bombs at the battle ship. The target's hull erupted in flames and broke apart. Any smaller enemies that were close to the ship were vaporized on the spot.

They still had a long way to go before they could reach the portal, and this fact was worsened by well over twenty squadrons of dark stars and the thirteen battleships heading in their position. "Just great," Falco groaned.

Farra radioed Fox, "Fox, what are we gonna do? We can't run straight through them, and there's too many to go around." Fox wasn't sure what to do. They couldn't afford to lose any time with the twin's lives at stake.

"Fox, can you hear us," Peppy asked. "We need a decision, now!"

"I know." The vulpine took a deep breathe before answering, "We're going through. I'm not going to let these guys stand between us and those kids."

"In that case," called a voice from the Solomon. It was Leonidas. "All of you split into two groups and move to the sides as far as you can to get out of our shot."

"Captain?" Krystal didn't know what to make of this. They were just recently trying to make sure Light and she were detained, and now they were helping them? "Why are you helping us?"

"It's true that I would rather keep you both on board this ship, safe and sound, but somehow I knew that we wouldn't be able to keep you for long. I understand only too well what a parent will go through for the sake of their child. Now move out of the way! All hands revert power from the thrusters and charge the Astral Busters!" Outside the ship, the side panels stripped away magnetically and two top-to-bottom prongs revealed themselves on both sides with a large electrical charge building up and concentrating itself, just like back when they fought the serpent on Cerinia's surface. At that time, they didn't have near enough power to fire the weapon, but that wasn't the case anymore. "FIRE!" Two long and powerful electrical bursts rocketed across the battlefield and ripped through the armada aiming for Light and Fox's team. The two groups in question were just barely able to get out of the way of the burst streams, which gave them a feeling of awe and wonder at how powerful the Solomon really was.

Every ship in the way of the twisting blasts was burnt to space dust, leaving everyone out there with an open path to go through. "Thanks, Captain," Light said.

Leonidas nodded and said, "That was the least we could do. Now go bring those kids home."

"Right. Alright, Fox. Let's go." The two teams flew straight past the devastation the Solomon had caused and soon came upon the open portal leading to the citadel. It was too bad that Krystal didn't have time to calibrate the Azure-Light, so they could just teleport over, but at least they had a way of getting there instead of nothing at all. Seemingly, the only obstacle in their way was the flagship of Blitzkrieg's forces.

Chris, Alex, and Nat turned to the Starfox team to tell them, "You guys go ahead and get Bulby and Princess through that portal." Fox nodded to him and Light's friends separated from the group and flew toward the gear fortress to distract it from targeting Light and Krystal's ship. While the flagship had it's hands, or rather it's cannons, full trying to shoot down the three multi-colored warriors, Fox and the others brought their fighters to max thrust and passed the ship by, naïve to the danger closing in on them.

"Alright, we made it!" Slippy exclaimed.

"Now let's go get those kids back," Farra was excited. To really fly and fight at Fox's side was the one thing she craved to do since her conception. Remembering events that could or should have happened was one thing, but to actually do it had far greater feelings of excitement attached to it.

"NOT SO FAST, STARFOX!"

Fox and his teammates' eyes widened in unexpected surprise. Four black and red wolfen model ships flew fast at them, firing their lasers. The red laser blasts aimed at Starfox missed them, but it broke everyone's formation. "Starwolf? What are you guys doing here?" Falco yelled with ruffled feathers.

"Blitzkrieg has ordered us to take you down," Leon chimed in all gentleman-like.

"Ah, I spot not one, but two beauties within my Black Rose's sights," Panther mused to himself.

"Not on your life, pal," Farra shouted.

"This is for Uncle Andross." Oikonny flipped a switch and shot a barrage of missiles at the Starfox team. The missiles were promptly shot down, but it wasn't moments later that each member of Starfox found themselves engaged with one of the enemy pilots.

"Light! Krystal! We'll keep them busy! You two concentrate on getting Dusk and Dawn back!" Fox radioed. The two nodded and kept going.

"Where do you think your going?" Wolf went to tail them, but quickly ended up with the broad side of fox's arwing slamming into his wolfen.

"Leave those two alone, Wolf! Your opponent is me."

Wolf narrowed his eyes at his long time rival. "Fine by me!"

With the members of Starfox and Starwolf going at each other's throats, Light and Krystal made the final stretch of distance and flew into the enemy's home turf. Both were surprised at what they saw surrounding the citadel. Nothing. No warships, anti-air fire, there was practically nothing standing between them and the citadel from where they were. "That's strange," Light observed. "Where are all of the guards?"

Krystal whispered back to him, "Because they're not needed." Light turned turn to her, expecting to hear more. "I don't know how strong he is, Light, but this fight won't be like the last one. Blitzkrieg has become much stronger over the past ten years, so we've got to be careful. If he is as powerful as Clouse said he was, then he poses a far more serious threat than his army. Let's concentrate on saving the kids first and getting them out of the way, and then we'll figure out a way to deal with Blitzkrieg."

"Right," her husband responded. "Look there, it looks like a balcony from here." They were quite a ways away still from the citadel, but Krystal could see where he was pointing to.

"Got it, we're going in." She brought their thrusters to max and flew as fast as they could.

At Blitzkrieg's fortress, Dusk had been separated from his sister and positioned on the platform, like he had since their kidnapping. He floated in the air, tearfully praying for someone to come rescue him and awaiting the reality that was going to befall him. "Let him go! I SAID, LET HIM GO!" his sister yelled persistently.

Blitzkrieg laughed at the futility of it all. "Yell all you want, little girl." He looked over at his mechanized servant and asked, "Are the preparations ready yet?"

His servant knelt and responded, "It is, Sire."

The citadel's master made a deadly smirk and readied his scythe. "Then no more delays. Start the separation."

"Yes, Sire." The machine servant pulled a switch and the device roared to life. Electrical static flowed brightly in between the short spikes of the arch of the device. Dusk was frightened, more so because he didn't know what exactly the machine was going to do to his floating body. Then he felt something weird start to happen on his insides. He stiffened as a massive vibration began to shake the foundation of his being. He began to scream louder then before. Pain racked his body from head to toe. He wanted to throw up, but wasn't able to.

"Yes, it's working!" Dusk opened one of his eyes that had shut itself due to the pain and gasped. An almost see through Marcus, the real blue furred, fox-looking Marcus, was being separated from dusk's body. The three children screamed and begged for the madness to end, causing Blitzkrieg to laugh even harder. "Oh don't worry," he said, walking up the stairs of the platform with his scythe's blade extended. "I'll make the pain end right…," before he could finish gloating, the entrance of his balcony imploded in on itself. Debris and dust was thrown about. One piece of debris the size of a large man sped towards Blitzkrieg, but the tyrant ducked, more to protect his scythe rather than himself. Going over his head, the chunk of debris collided with his machine servant, crushing it. What caused the implosion was a space fighter crashing into his throne room. The hatch opened, revealing Krystal and… Light? Blitzkrieg felt a pulse of shock run through his mind and it only asked, "How! It's impossible!" The three children however felt a wave of relief and overwhelming happiness. Not only were they being rescued, but the kids had their father back.

Dawn started crying tears of happiness. "Mamma! You came to save us!"

"BLITZKRIEG, LET OUR CHILDREN…" startling Krystal and abruptly halting her demanding voice, was the image of Marcus, separated from Dusk's body. "It can't be, Marcus?" Light's expression mimicked her reaction.

Realizing the two had paused in astonishment, Blitzkrieg took the advantage and made good on his threat. With one swing with the bloody red scythe, time cruelly slowed to a stop for all watching. When it was all over and nothing could be done, Krystal whispered gravely in a low, shaken voice and water filling her eyes, "…No…"

The curved blade had sunk right through Marcus' chest with the pointed end coming out of his back. His heart, which had gained solidity no more than a few seconds before, had been sliced in half from within his body. Marcus hung in midair by the blade of Blitzkrieg's staff and the shallow eyes of the scythes head glowed violently and flowing green energy was visibly sucked out of Marcus and into the mouth of the scythe head. Once the flow of energy stopped after a few seconds, Marcus was unceremoniously thrown at Light and Krystal's feet.

Light and Krystal found the will to move and dove toward Marcus. Krystal gathered Marcus in her arms and held his head up to get his attention. "MARCUS! Marcus! You're going to be okay, you hear me? You're going to be okay."

Marcus' wound was deep and bleeding profusely. It was untreatable from where they were. In Krystal's arms, despite her assurance that he would be fine, a gasping Marcus smiled in tragic anguish. His jade eyes peered into Light's with apology. "I'm so sorry, Dad… I wasn't able to be the son you wanted." Krystal's, and especially Light's, heart broke into pieces at those words. Light wasn't Marcus' true father. They all knew that, but there Marcus lied where he was, acknowledging Light as both a person and a father. Krystal felt Marcus' body begin to lose its solidity. He was fading, and fast.

"No, you're wrong! I love you, Marcus! We all love you." Dusk and Dawn couldn't contain the tears that had welled up.

Marcus smiled at the both of them with wetting and matted fur on the edge of his eyes. "Thank you… for everything," he gasped in a hushed voice. With his small, almost inaudible, words, the light in Marcus' eyes faded, as did his body a second after. Krystal's hands, which only previously had been holding her dying son, were vacant of anything living and stained with blood. Krystal's voice had caught itself and her mind was no longer focused on anything. Only tears could be shed as nothing could be said.

It should have been a time to mourn, but Blitzkrieg didn't allow it. His soulless laugh echoed through the throne room. "Now isn't this touching." Krystal wasn't paying attention to anything around her, Light, on the other hand, was all ears and his shoulders shook with the rage that was building up inside. "I guess that makes the second Kindley I've killed." Blitzkrieg began to glow with a red and black aura that sent waves of ecstasy through his dark heart. "However, my eyes are filled with curiosity. How are you still alive? I know without a doubt that you were killed." Blitzkrieg smirked to himself, despite the revelation in front of him. New found power began to flow through his veins and his gloved hands began to change. They turned black as coal, grew a full size, and shaped themselves out to be sharper and more pointed. Crowning the new change that was occurring inside and out of him was the appearance of dark, crooked markings running along from his red eyes to the sides of his face and the base of his neck. He released the scythe from his grip, no longer needing it now that it had fulfilled it's purpose. "No matter. Most villains would be disheartened to find that the hero cheated death. I, on the other hand, am thrilled beyond comprehension that your back from the dead. Manipulating your murder by a close ally and friend was tantalizing, but to put you in your grave with this new I've just acquired will be far more gratifying." Light muttered something under his breath, but with his face stuck facing downward, Blitzkrieg wasn't able to make out what the other was saying. "Pardon?"

"Never again…," Light whispered. After uttering that, a blindingly familiar light filled the room. Blitzkrieg didn't avert his eyes away from his enemy but, before he could realize what was going on, Light was already driving a glowing fist under the fiend's sternum yelling, "NEVER AGAIN!"

In that split second, Blitzkrieg's eye caught sight of Light's transformation. It wasn't the one from a decade before, or even the he had seen at Atlantis. This one was familiar to him. The white hair with black streaks, the black raiment with white armor and the wings of black ice. For nearly a decade, Blitzkrieg had been searching and longing for his true destiny. He had hoped he could find it by harvesting paradox energy and gaining more power after his first failed attempt at taking over Light's body. He knew that light's body possessed immense hidden power within, but what he was feeling was far beyond what he had imagined. He lusted over such power. So much so that because of that one eye opening punch, something in his mind kicked into overdrive. He could feel it. It was the power that he needed to find his destiny.

Once that split second analysis ended, the power punch Light delivered propelled Blitzkrieg across the room and through the citadel walls, leaving a hole leading to the outside. Light huffed and puffed in fuming anger. A moment of silence passed. Before long, a large red aura arose into view. Light knew one punch wouldn't be near enough to put him down. To Light's chagrin, Blitzkrieg floated in the air without the need for wings or anything of the sort. He was floating by his own will and it didn't even look like the punch had even fazed him. Blitzkrieg laughed like a madman, "That's it! That's the power I truly seek! Give it to me!"

Light's blood boiled as Marcus came to mind. "You want it! You can have it!" The black and white swords appeared in Light's hands as he rushed the tyrant. Blitzkrieg caught the blades with his new sharpened claws, but found both he and Light flying through the hole in the wall and outside the building.

"Yes! GIVE IT TO ME!" The red aura around Blitzkrieg glowed and formed into a sphere. The sphere expanded, forcing Light away from the demon emperor and slamming him into the dirt. Light got up and looked up to where Blitzkrieg was. Light could feel something powerful and terrible ripple throughout his being, however he wasn't the only one who was noticing this.

Allistor, who had been monitoring the battle with Blitzkrieg's forces, suddenly picked up a powerful signal from one of his other monitoring devices, and it was the one signal he had been dreading. "Captain! You're not going to believe this! An Immeasurable amount of paradox energy is radiating out of that portal! The reading is so powerful its off the charts!"

"What!" Leonidas stood up anxiously. There was nothing he could do from where he was, so he sat down with tightened fists. This was the one development they had been trying to prevent from day one. Something big was happening on the other side of that portal and the only thing they could do was sit and wait. He sat there hoping Light and Krystal would be able to do something about this development as soon as possible before that paradox energy could tear the universe apart.

Fighting was the only thing Light knew to do. Light flew from the ground with an ice bomb formed at the tip of each of his swords and launched both at his target. Blitzkrieg floated in place and allowed the bombs to hit him. In the mist of the explosions, Light searched for the result of his attacks. "You're holding back on me." Light's speechless face paled. Blitzkrieg was behind him and he didn't even notice? Light felt a palm place itself on his back and then a scorching pain filled his senses. Blitzkrieg burned Light's armored back with a black fireball. "What's wrong, Brother? We were even with each other ten years ago. Don't tell me that furry wench has made you weaker," he said tauntingly.

Light got over the pain and steeled himself. They weren't confined to a single room in a cave anymore, the whole world they were in was their battlefield now. Blitzkrieg was right; Light was holding back, but longer he thought to himself. He was fighting for his family and to make sure justice was served. Light disappeared in a flash from his spot in the air and ended up in Blitzkrieg's face. Light started stabbing at speeds unknown to most. Blitzkrieg was also fast beyond human comprehension and dodged as many of the strikes as possible until the frost sabre dug into his shoulder, finally drawing some of his blackened blood. Blitzkrieg's breath hitched a little, but didn't let that hinder him from taking one claw and raking it deep into Light's chest. The claws pierced the armor, causing gashes along Light's flesh. Light released himself from Blitzkrieg to avoid any deeper scratches from those claws, all the while unleashing a hail of ice shards from his palm.

The fiend stretched his palm out and flaming orb spread itself into a shield, melting the shards before any could hit.

"I really hope that's not all you can muster. Come on, fight me or crawl at my feet!"

Light's eyes narrowed in hatred he never knew he could possess. "I'll make sure you won't harm a single thing ever again!" With an outstretched hand, Light summoned more power than ever and unleashed a cold wave from his palm that filled the sky. It was fast, powerful, and the tyrant couldn't move out of the way. Light expected the blizzard blast to leave nothing in its wake. To his dismay, Blitzkrieg was basically unharmed despite his blood beginning to freeze from within. He started laughing madly once again, as if the pain he was feeling inside was nothing.

"Yes, now that's what I wanted to see. And now, I have something I'd like to show you," He raised his hand high into the sky and let his red aura fill the atmosphere. The sunset colored sky disappeared and was replaced by the image of planets. There were hundreds of thousands of them, millions even, in all sizes and shapes. He could have sworn he could see entire star systems as well, and they were all connected by multicolored bridges between them.

"What… is this?"

Blitzkrieg smirked at Light's confusion. "This is the power of the paradox energy your 'son' gave to me." Light's teeth grounded against each other at the reminder of the tyrant's most recent murder. "What you are seeing… is the multi-verse in it's truest form. The Grand Cross! You and that furry freak of a wife of yours exiled me out of your realm and I was stuck with the daunting task of trying to look for new ways to increase my power and find easier ways to hop from realm to realm, building my army as I go. I've done all of this for the purpose of finding Malxifel."

Light formed another ice bomb in his hands and hurled it with all of his might, "Why do you want to find him?" Blitzkrieg smacked the bomb back at Light, who cut the bomb in half with his black blade. Each half hit the ground to the sides behind him and exploded. Light covered his eyes from the debris, which he quickly realized was an awful mistake.

In a moments notice, Blitzkrieg was behind Light and to his side, "To destroy him and take his power for myself." With a swipe, Light's body was sent skidding on the ground. "I've been doing my research on this Malxifel for many years along side while I plotted my revenge against you. He is rumored throughout the multi-verse, in many different depictions, to be the very incarnation of evil itself. Darkness is as old as the light, but in the beginning, darkness, although it existed, had no representative for itself because it was confined to the Void realm. It's said that, to remedy this, Malxifel used his powerful influence to sway a certain angel named Lucifer into thinking that he could take over Heaven itself." Blitzkrieg outstretched his hand and shot fire bolts at Light's already burned back. Light screamed in pain and tried to pull himself together while Blitzkrieg continued. "Lucifer lost that war and four trillion angels fell with him, but he served Malxifel's purpose. Lucifer introduced darkness to the world and this led to the creation of paradox energy. While I don't know what paradox energy serves for him, to me it will allow me to do the impossible and destroy darkness itself, and then I will become that darkness. That's what paradox energy can do you know. It's the power to alter reality and rewrite the rules of this universe."

Light got back on his feet with swords raised to attack, "So, is that it? Do you think you're some kind of god?"

The fiend smirked and chuckled at the thought, "No… I'm the Devil." Faster than Light could process what was happening, Blitzkrieg reshaped his right hand to resemble a gatling gun and began firing a hail of green energy bolts. Light reacted quickly to the ever changing situation and spun his swords in circles to deflect the shots. Most of the shots were deflected and dissipated when they came in contact with the swords, but a few managed to breach through the swords and hit Light in his waist and shoulders. After a long minute of deflecting and getting hit by those energy bolts, Blitzkrieg stopped and reshaped both of his arms into black broadswords and ran at Light.

The two strikers assaulted to the left, to the right, up, and down, crossing their blades and trying to gain the upper hand over the other. Light noticed two things from this. Blitzkrieg did not have infinite power or else he'd be able to keep up that barrage he surprised Light with a moment before, and he was slower than before. 'That's it!' Light figured out. The tyrant had made a huge mistake. With renewed vigor and confidence, Light crossed his blades once more with blitzkrieg and started pushing hard to over power him. To Blitzkrieg's dismay, Light was doing just that and started pushing him back. "I knew it! All of that gloating and showing me the Grand Cross must have used up a good chunk of that 'infinite power,' didn't it."

Blitzkrieg's eyes widened, "… tch…" Light had figured him out… mostly.

Light reached inside of himself to tap into his own well of power and, in a burst of strength, Light forced Blitzkrieg's arms apart. Before his adversary could recover, Light slammed his head hard into Blitzkrieg's skull. The head butt pushed each other back and stunned the both of them; however, it was Light who shook it off first. Light, with a blue flaming aura surrounding him, shot two powerful ice bombs one after another. Each one nailed Blitzkrieg's shoulders, bursting upon impact. Light sprinted up to the distracted tyrant and put the palm of his right hand on Blitzkrieg's chest. "THIS ONE'S FOR MARCUS!" From his palm, Light concentrated and released a cold wave beam, point blank. The power and force of the blast sent Blitzkrieg high into the air with no clear destination in sight. Light watched Blitzkrieg go up and anticipated the fiend's fall. When the dark emperor landed, leaving a skid mark where he laid, Light smiled in a bitter sweet way, "… Stay down."

Hoping blitzkrieg was down for the count, which he knew was a stretch; Light spread his wings and rose from the ground to check on Krystal and the twins. Although he wanted nothing more than to kill the demon, Light was seriously tired and weakened. Plus, he was seriously worried about his family. "Don't you know?"

Light's blood felt like it had froze in his blood stream. 'Not yet? He can't already be up?' But alas, there he stood in the middle of his dirt skid markings. His chest was badly damaged with deep black and blue bruises and a hole that Light's cold wave froze and burned to the bone of his sternum. Light knew that it wasn't enough to kill him, but he was hoping for enough time to rest, check on his family, and come up with a new plan. Now though, it looked like none of that was going to happen.

Blitzkrieg rose from the ground by his own power of will until he was level with Light. "Never turn your back on your enemy!" He reverted his swords back into claws and slashed the air in front of him. The slash ripped open a portal and violet energy lances shot out at rapid speeds, putting gashes in Light's legs and striking his wings, grounding him once again. The young man was quick to get back up. "That last display of yours was impressive, but if that is all you have to give, then I've already won this war. You see, I'VE ALSO BEEN HOLDING BACK!" Blitzkrieg's red aura grew and glowed more brilliantly than ever, until its very size had engulfed the landscape and everything in sight, making everything around Light appear crimson in color. Even from in the air, Light could feel the world's vibrations around him as the surface quaked beneath him. "I was hoping to conserve the bulk of my strength for when I destroy Malxifel, but looks like I'll have to wait a bit longer to meet that goal. Instead, I'll just use all of this power to scatter your blood to oblivion." Blitzkrieg materialized a black ball of energy in his hand and shot it at Light's feet.

Light jumped out of the way, wondering why he would intentionally miss, although he didn't have to wonder for long. The blast started expanding, forcing Light to retreat to the sky. The young man looked down to see what that sphere had done, only to find that it was still there. Growing and consuming everything in sight. Light looked back at Blitzkrieg and found the fiend with four more of those spheres orbiting around his body.

"And now, let's see how maneuverable you really are with those ragged wings of yours," the red-eyed monster said in a smirk.

While the battle outside raged, Krystal was paralyzed where she was. Her mind was plagued with repeating images of Marcus' death. Dusk and Dawn called out to her as loud and as many times as possible. Nothing seemed to work. She just sat there with her hands and arms soaked in blood and frozen in place. 'I was too late, and I couldn't do anything… I saw him get stabbed, and I couldn't do anything… I watched him die in my arms, and I couldn't do anything…' Those thoughts echoed through her mind. The kids kept yelling when the citadel started to quiver before erupting into full blown shaking. An important generator in the building must have gotten damaged, for the children were released from their bindings and fell with a thud.

The twins got up and ran to their Mother to try and snap her out of her daze. "Mamma!" thy both yelled when they wrapped their arms around Krystal's shoulders. Krystal seemed to awaken a little from the nightmare that replayed itself in her head and pulled her children closer. Then she started to weep and her children began to cry too. Regardless of all the problems they had with him, they still loved Marcus. They could all feel the new wound in their hearts. Their mother had sunk into a deep mourn, their father was fighting with that demon outside, and they had unjustly lost a brother. The kids were bewildered on what they could do except hold their mother tighter. That was all they needed to do.

Krystal soon recovered, not by much though, but enough to function semi-normally. Krystal lifted up her head and gave Dawn and Dusk a reassuring, if woefully depressed, smile. "I've missed you both so much," she sobbed. "I promise, I'll never allow anything like this happen to you ever again. Come on, let's get out of here and see if your father needs help, okay." Their tear stained faces nodded. The two put on as brave a smile as they could and this urged Krystal on to go over to the slightly damaged arwing and begin repairing it as best she could to get it to fly again. "Then let's get to work. I'll need both of your help to fix it before the walls start collapsing." She said this normally, but Dawn and Dusk could see it in her eyes. She was beyond devastated. More than likely, she was traumatized and suffering from severe shock. Even so, they still went to work. There would be a time for mourning but, as it stood, it wasn't the right moment yet.

Light flew in zigzags and weaved through the air to escape Blitzkrieg's relentless spheres. Several of them burst in midair, eliminating even the air and clouds. One more sphere was sent in front of Light, who switched gears fast to move out of the way of the blast while steering clear of the others that had already burst. And that's when Light realized what Blitzkrieg had been doing. All of the black spheres had cut off his ground and flight routes. He was trapped, and the only way to fly out was blocked by Blitzkrieg. "It's been fun, Brother. However, it's time to end this game of ours." Light just narrowed his eyes and tried to desperately figure out how to break through. Blitzkrieg opened up one palm out in front and held that arm with his other, appearing to concentrate hard on something. A mixture of red and black crackling electricity grew to life, but it looked like Blitzkrieg was straining to keep it alive. "Now, return to the grave with this little present, I named it after you of course. LIGHT'S CATARACKT!" Blitzkrieg unleashed that evil energy of fire and electricity that shaped itself into an all consuming clawed hand, clearly not being able to really control it, but just able to point the devouring power in the right direction.

In response, Light infused as much power he could into the scorch and frost blades. The swords glowed blue and red as he crossed them together and flew straight toward Blitzkrieg; colliding into the demonic force that he could feel was trying to consume him. This was now a battle of will. Blitzkrieg had the advantage in power, but Light's spirit was strong. Yet, the two were even. Light struggled to keep the named attack from touching him, as did Blitzkrieg to keep the attack going. It even looked like the attack was taking a physically destructive toll on Blitzkrieg's arm. Light pushed ever forward, using the swords energy to shield him from the attack. He had to make it, he told himself. With this much power already in Blitzkrieg's possession, the consequences of him gaining Malxifel's would be unimaginable. He had to end it right there and then. "I WON'T LET YOU WIN!"

"THEN STOP ME IF YOU CAN!" It seemed they were both reaching their limit, and they knew it. With one final burst of strength, the two put all they had left into erasing the other from existence. The light and length of Light's blades grew triple in size. The crackling crimson and dark energy claw grew to half the size of the giant spheres and started to try to enclose around Light's being. After a second of struggle passed by, it was clear. Blitzkrieg was going to win. Light was pushing himself as far as he could go, but the claw was forcefully breaking through his shield too quickly for him to compensate. That mad smile and laugh returned once more to mock Light, even with the tyrant's arm being torn to shreds from his own paradox power. "AHA HA Ha Ha HA Ha! DO YOU SEE THE DEPTHS OF MY POWER? YOU NEVER STOOD A CHANCE AGAINST ME! NOW, DROWN IN THE SORROW OF THE ABYSS!"

Disregarding the fact that Blitzkrieg was certainly right, Light still pushed onward, awaiting what fate had in store for him at the end of this dark tunnel. Answering Light's call to destiny, a long spinning object whisked through the air and slammed into Blitzkrieg's back, making him scream in pain and lose some of his concentration. This made the energy claw that about to grasp Light open up a bit, allowing Light to gain some ground. Blitzkrieg looked up to search for the offending attacker, only to find the spinning object boomerang back to the hand of its source. It was Krystal and her staff! She and the twins were high up in the open cockpit of the arwing. The arwing was beginning to gently float downward for a gentle landing thanks to the autopilot, but Krystal didn't plan to be a part of that landing. "Hey, Blitzkrieg!" She got his attention and, for the first time since the battle had begun, his reptilian-like red eyes were filled with unexpected, and unwanted, surprise. She jumped out of the cockpit, falling right in Blitzkrieg's path. "GO TO HELL!" Her reared back fist rammed it dead center of Blitzkrieg's face with an audible impact. With that one fist, the dark sorcerer lost all concentration of his attack and it dissipated. As soon as that claw disappeared, Light sped through, like he had the speed of light, for the moment he had been waiting for. Blitzkrieg's vexed eyes saw it coming, just in time to have both swords run through his chest. To top it all off, Light spun upright on his side and brought a leg with herculean strength down onto his adversary's shoulder, sending the tyrant speeding down to the ground with the swords still embedded through his body. His body plummeted with a thunderous roar into the ground, leaving a cloud of dust like a meteorite from the sky, shaking the Earth around it. And with that, the red aura that surrounded everything and the giant black spheres that surrounded the area vanished. It looked like it was finally finished.

Light's flight didn't end there. Before Krystal could hit the ground, Light caught her in midair. "Glad to see me?" he asked in an exhausted smile.

"Always," she smiled back before assaulting his lips. Light was too tired to fight back the kiss, although he probably should have tried to seeing as how they were still in a battle field, so he melted into it. During that closed-eyes kiss, Light's formed changed once more to the white knight that he truly was on the inside. The two soon descended to the ground, putting their foreheads together and started nuzzling the other.

"Ewe! Gross!" The moment was ruined by Dusk and Dawn, who were landing on the ground at that moment. As soon as the arwing touched the ground, the twins hopped out and rushed to their parent's arms. The whole family was there, for the most part, shedding tears of joy for finally being reunited with one another.

It was a moment that none of them would ever forget, after being separated for so long. "No-t… yet." Light and Krystal turned around with a snarl and put the kids behind their legs to keep them protected. It was Blitzkrieg once again. His arm was burned and torn in long and deep gashes and, from the way it dangled loosely, was surely unusable. The swords were still embedded in his chest and sticking out of his back. He bled from his mouth, eyes, and his cracked fore head. He limped out of his crater, straining himself as he went. "I can not lose. I have to-to find… my true pur-pose," He said as he used his left, good arm to slowly and painfully pull out the swords. He did so with a low scream each time. The kids backed further away at keep safe, hoping that their parents can keep them safe.

"Give it up, Blitzkrieg," Krystal warned with venom. "You've lost. Now, crawl back into that hole and die already."

He laughed at her lowly, his bleeding increasing with second. "There's… no way I'll be defe-ated. It can-not be my destiny," he said as he continued to stagger closer to them. With each step he took, they took a step back. "I'll show you… I'll get my-my ultimate… pow-" '_**WHAT A DISGRACE!**_' a powerful voice boomed inside his head, causing Blitzkrieg to widen his eyes and stop in his movements. "Wh-who… are you?" Light and Krystal exchanged glances, worried about Blitzkrieg's sudden change in demeanor. '_**YOU HAVE POWER, BUT YOU KNOW NOT HOW TO USE IT! BECOME MINE ONCE AGAIN, AND FULFILL**_ _**YOUR DESTINY!**_ ' "You can… show me my dest-my destiny." Light and Krystal were convinced that Blitzkrieg had just become terribly deranged and got ready in case he decided to lash out all of a sudden. "Please… Show me… my purpose!" After muttering those words, a pain sharper than anything Blitzkrieg had ever experienced before cut through his brain like a blade. He gripped his skull in agony, screaming, "NO! WHAT IS THIS? WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ME?" Red and black crackling energy began wrapping itself around his person, from the soles of his feet to the tip of his head. He screamed as it did so, with the Kindley family watching in fearful confusion. Then, in bursting flashes of crimson light, Blitzkrieg disintegrated and his screams scattered into the nothingness.

A piercing silence ensued.

After staring at the spot where Blitzkrieg had just been for practically forever, Krystal stepped out of the group and voiced everyone's thoughts. "What In the world just happened?"

"I don't know," Light said with concern, before turning to watch the crumbling citadel fall to pieces. "But I have a very unsettling feeling about whatever it was we just witnessed."


	30. Facing What's Left

**Author's Note:**** This is it people. We're finally reaching the home stretch. This chapter was fairly hard to do, but only recently got to it because I decided to not have a class for summer. So know that that headache is out of the way, and my vacation to Tennessee ended recently, I plan to finish the story this month. As long as I have the time to write, I'm going to try to release the next chapter in up to 10 days. So with this, we're already half done with the arc.**

**!Music Alert!:**** You'll easily know what to put on for this chapter. **

**To Everyone:**** Please enjoy the chapter and remember to Read & Review! **

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**Chapter 29**

**Facing What's Left**

Flying through the space dust and maneuvering expertly in every way, Fox piloted his arwing out of the way of the laser fire directed at him. With each maneuver and turn however, Wolf could match Fox's movements and then some. "Ha, I've got your tail, Fox!" Wolf let out a burst of blaster fire, forcing Fox to make a sharp right turn.

It wasn't often that Fox could sweat and someone would be able to notice. The fur on his brow was matted and wet. "I need to shake this guy." Fox saw a large wall of steel debris floating up ahead and it gave him an idea. He went under with Wolf following behind. Instead of going straight, Fox did the fastest somersault he ever attempted. He pulled it off and got in place behind Wolf… that is he would have, if the lupine was any where in sight. "What?"

Before he could see it, he felt blaster fire pounding away at his G-Diffuser shield. Alerts and sirens went off in his cockpit while Wolf gloated. "Now you're in my sights, Fox. Let's end this rivalry here and now!" Wolf let loose a barrage from below and Fox couldn't get his ship back under control.

Fox's G-Diffuser was half-way depleted when Fara flew in and fired at wolf, connecting with his shield and pushing him away from Fox. "Are you alright, Fox?"

"I wish I was. My G-Diffuser is down to nearly half."

Falco rang in right after Fox. "You and me both, buddy. These punks were never this strong before," he said on his intercom while speeding through the battle zone with Leon's Rainbow Delta locking on to him. Falco knew that Leon's wolfen didn't have an actual laser, but it DID have a charge shot canon with the widest lock-on range he had ever seen. He avoided most of the charged shots homing in on him through sharp turns that had the shots only hitting the floating scrap metal that surrounded the area.

Leon was quick to put a dozen locks on Falco's ship and made a smug face. "Choke on this, bird!" Leon released the trigger and shot a volley of homing charges at the falcon. The charged beams closed in on Falco in a spiral formation. Falco hit the breaks and turned back to fly through the spiral's open center, preparing to make a head on collision with Leon. "So you want a game of chicken? Fine!" Going head on with each other, the two blasting at each other. Falco's single laser hounded on Leon's strong defenses and Leon sent a few charged shots Falco's way, which hammered the Sky Claw's G-Diffuser to almost nothing. Falco's slammed on his boosters and barely flew over the lizards head. "Ha! I've won!"

Falco smirked. "Yeah, keep thinking that." The lizard narrowed his beady little eyes before turning to see his volley of shots blast the wings off his ship and wreck his thruster. Leon's ship spiraled out of his control as it hurled toward the wreckage of one of Blitzkrieg's battleships.

"No! This can't be happening! I AM THE GREAT LEO-!" The lizard didn't have enough time to finish his cry before the Rainbow Delta disappeared into the battleship's side with a flaming plume. As much as Falco wished the Lizard was dead, he was sure the cold-blooded reptile would find a way to survive that crash, just like he always had before. Falco hit his comm. Link once more and radioed the others. "Falco here; Leon's been taken care of, but I've taken some heavy damage. I'll see you all in the Great Fox's hanger, hopefully." With his latest announcement, the avian made a bee line for the team's base.

After getting a bit of good news from Falco, the others on the Starfox team found themselves with a little more confidence in winning. Since Falco's first communication, Wolf had rebounded and was blasting away at both Fox and Fara. The two vulpine boosted in opposite directions to avoid any concentrated shots. They somersaulted and rushed at Wolf. He boosted to the side and avoided most of their shots, but the combined attack put a reasonable dent in his shields. Fara's ship was faster than both so she moved in to cause some more damage when a wide electrical hail rained down from above.

Panther Caroso had been charging his zapper cannon while looking for his female prey, when he came upon two arwings going after Wolf's wolfen. Panther released the trigger and unleashed his zapper blast. Fara pulled up to avoid the electric death shot and found herself flying upwards, belly to belly, with Panther. "Ah, such beauty," he said in a seductive purr. "Become mine and we'll fly through the stars together."

Fara slammed the underside of her arwing into his wolfen's to break off their unintentional dance. "Sorry to break it to you, but I'm already taken."

"Then it pains me to do this to such a fine creature, but never the less," Panther recovered and fired another long burst of electricity. Fara swerved around the zapper blast and fired two smart bombs at once. With Panther's ship being as slow as it was, he couldn't maneuver out of the way. Smirking at the situation he was in, he was quick to stop trying. "Guess I was completely outmatched," he said right before the bombs took his wings. In the aftermath of the blast, Panther's wrecked ship was sent deep into the battle zone. Now that that annoyance was dealt with, Fara went back to help Fox.

While Fara and Fox went toe-to-toe with the ever strong Wolf O'Donell, Peppy and Slippy were doing their best NOT to be caught in Andrew's sights. Normally when it's two vs one, the side with more than one ship usually has the advantage, but that wasn't the case for the two Starfox members. Slippy quickly, and unfortunately, found out that Andrew's wolfen was equipped with something like an omni-lock. It didn't matter what side of Andrew's ship they were on. Front, back, below, the side, it didn't matter. Andrews's ship would get an automatic lock and fire missiles at both of them. The two circled the wolfen, trying to nickel and dime it whenever they weren't evading or getting hit by missiles.

One missile locked on to Slippy and hit his left wing from behind, turning it into a charred stub. Now his ship had a limp and his G-diffuser was steadily depleting. Peppy wasn't doing so hot himself, but at least he had speed, where as Slippy's ship was slow and had no choice but to take a beating. It may have had a high tolerance for pain, but there was only so much one frog could take. "Help me!" the Amphibian pleaded.

"Slippy! We can't keep this up! Try scanning his ship for a weak spot!"

Slippy tried to get a good lock on the ape's ship to do his scan, but another missile hitting his ship interrupted the scan. "I can't, it takes a few seconds to scan, but I can't even get that with the way we're going!"

"Fine!" Peppy said before swerving to get behind Andrew. Peppy unloaded every smart bomb he had while his G-diffuser took hit-after-hit. It looked like the monkey was having a field day with what was left of his shields, but the same could have applied to the hare. His shield was down to practically nothing. Panels from his ship were popping off and electrical wiring was sparking up flames. With Peppy's risky maneuver, Slippy was able to get the scan they desperately needed.

"Scan complete! Peppy, there's a hole in his shield at the wolfen's front tip! You have to hit it exactly."

"Got it!" Peppy flew up high with missiles closing in and exploding on his trail. He U-turned and, while the ape was distracted with covering the frog's ship with scorch marks and flames. Peppy zoomed in as far as he could from above and shot at the frog's target. Most of the burst only hit the wolfen's shield, but one shot hit its mark. Peppy and Slippy watched as the well aimed shot caused the wolfen's shield to implode in on itself. The ape couldn't even get a scream in. His ship blew up into a ball of fire. The Ape seemingly met his fate, just like his uncle before him.

Not long after, Fox and Fara heard the news from Slippy and Peppy, who were on their way for some repairs.

Fox smiled, despite the situation he was in. "It looks like it's down to you and us, Wolf."

Wolf grinned maliciously, "That's where you're wrong, Fox." Wolf flipped a switch and the front edges on the wings of his new wolfen glowed a bright red. He boosted his wolfen, almost colliding into Fara, but he stayed low enough to where only his ship's wings could come into contact with her ship's underside. His wings sliced through her arwing's G-diffuser and armor plating like butter, causing her ship to spin out. "It's only you and me!"

"FARA!" Fox yelled.

"FOX!" Fara didn't crash into debris and die like she thought she would. Three multi-colored armored space warriors caught her ship together. Fara took a moment to register that she was safe from harm and saw the space men from her cockpit. "Alex, Chris, Nat? Thanks, I thought I was going to be done fore."

"No problem, Rookie."

"Weren't you supposed to be taking care of that flagship?"

"Just look around you," Chris asked. Fara did, and was surprised to see that no more lasers were being fired. It was dead silent out there.

"The battle is over," Alex stated.

"… But… how?" Fara, Fox, and especially Wolf were surprised to see that the three friends were right. The battle was apparently over already.

"That's what we'd like to know," Nat grumbled.

"Eh?"

"It's best that we explain lat..." A red burst of laser fire shot at there direction and the three just barely managed to get out of the way. "Whoa! Now, that was rude!" Alex complained.

Regardless of the situation, Wolf wasn't going to let this one go. The lupine had had enough of the rivalry between Fox and himself. Fox knew exactly what was going through Wolf's head. "Guys, get Fara out of here! I'm going to finish things here with Wolf!"

"No need to tell us twice. Good luck," they called while carrying a screaming and protesting Fara back to the Great fox and the Solomon. "Alright, Wolf! It's just you and me now, just the way you wanted."

Wolf made a toothy grin, showing off his incisors. "Good! I guess I'm going to be having fried Fox for dinner tonight! Taste my crimson wolf claw!" He slammed on the boost and his wolfen replied kindly with a burst of speed that almost made it a blur to Fox. The vulpine somersaulted and only barely missed having the wolfen's wings gash into his arwing's hull. Fox didn't finish the somersault completely. Instead, the vulpine boosted into the same debris field as Wolf was headed for and, for once in this whole dog fight, Fox was on Wolf's tail.

Not missing the opportunity, Fox laid down the law and wreaked havoc on Wolf's shield with continuous twin laser fire. Wolf braked and Fox followed suit. The two braked too fast for either of them and collided with each other. Fox was above and got some long scratches on his underside.

Wolf was below however, which resulted in the plating above him to make cracks in his cock pit hatch and started to make the plating above him dent in close to his scalp. When their ships bounced apart, Wolf fired a smart bomb at an angle ahead of them. The bomb went off and separated the two further apart from each other. No matter what, Fox wasn't going to allow wolf to get his speed advantage back. In the midst of the blast, Fox saw a long steel siding of debris floating on the other side of Wolf. The vulpine rammed the side of his arwing into the wolfen's, which pushed the opposing fighter into a drag along the debris. "What the heck!" The wolfen was sandwiched in the middle and the lupine was beginning to feel the heat, almost literally thanks to the sparks his ship was making while being dragged along the debris.

Fox pushed his even more damaged, and sparking, arwing away from the wolfen and disappeared into the debris field. "Alright," the ace pilot stated confidently. "Switching to All-range mode!" His ships wings changed their position to expand the arwing's wing span.

It took a few seconds for Wolf to recover but when he did, he couldn't spot his rival amongst the debris. "Where are you, Fox! Come out and fight me!" A couple seconds later, a smart bomb went off behind a fighter ship sized chunk of debris, propelling it into the undamaged side of Wolf's fighter. "NNOOOO!" Wolf yelled, alarms going off around him. All of the broken paneling and electronics had him pinned where he sat. "I CAN'T MOVE!" Before he knew it, two grapple lines had latched onto him and there was no way he could escape.

"You can stop struggling, O'Donnell." Wolf recognized the voice as Fox's military friend, Bill. "We're taking you in."

Wolf snarled. "Fox! What do you think you're doing! We were supposed to finish this, once and for all!"

Fox revealed himself. "Sorry, Wolf. If you weren't around anymore, I wouldn't have a deadly rival anymore. And you know me; I have to have someone who is always out to kill me. Am I right?" he asked with a smug expression.

"Thanks for delivering this guy to us, Fox. We'll be sure to add his bounty to your check."

"No problem, Bill. And thanks."

"I'LL KILL YOU FOR THIS, FFFOOOOX!" the lupine yelled as Bill and his subordinate hulled him off to they're base.

With that last dog fight finally over, Fox took a moment to breath in a sigh of relief. He opened his comm. link to the Great fox and heard ROB on the other side. "This is Fox. Wolf is in Cornerian custody and I'm on my way to the hanger. Once I'm there, I want a full explanation on why the fighting has stopped and what Light and Krystal's status are."

"Understood," the mechanical voice responded. Fox killed the communications and made way for possibly a good rest and some good news, if he was lucky enough.

It wasn't very long after until most of everyone had arrived on board the Solomon again, with the notable exceptions of Light and Krystal. Fox had joined Fara and the other starfox members along with Allistor, Lindsey, Clouse, Sabre, Light's parents, Krystal's parents, and the Captain. Fox had yet to receive any answers to his previous requests. While he and everyone else were thinking along the same lines, Alex, Chris, and a grumbling Nat marched through the automatic doors. "All right, can somebody tell me what the heck happened out there?" They all could hardly wait to figure out what had happened.

_After separating from the others, Light's three friends shot beams of fire, wind, and lightning at the gear shaped flagship, getting it's cannons' attention away from Light and Krystal as they flew into the portal. Alex launched two arrows at the floating fortress. The arrows combusted and became thousands of separate arrows, causing as much damage as possible. Taking advantage of the distraction Alex was making, Chris and Nat slammed their mech-like selves through the fortress's armor and found themselves in the ship's violet hallway. "The two of you try to take out the command center, and I'll take out as many cannons as possible," Alex said just before the hole they had made was sealed up to stop the vacuum. _

"_Got it," was Chris' reply._

_The two ran down the hall together until they came upon a squad of those mechanized goliaths. "Leave this to me." Without hesitation, Nat became his given element and flashed through the machines, slashing each one with his Longinus spear. The machines were soon a pile of robotic rubble. Nat turned around to Chris and held up the peace sign, "I'm awesome." Without being given an explanation, Chris threw his Flamberge battle axe in Nat's direction. The man ducked in time and screamed, "Dude! What's your deal?" Chris made a spinning motion with his finger and Nat turned around to see a machine with its cannon pointed at Nat's head. Chris walked up to it and took back his axe. The two walked away from the dead machine with Nat mumbling a 'thanks' to Chris._

"_You're welcome," he said with his helmet concealing his smile. The two ran through the maze of hall ways, hacking, slashing and stabbing any machines on the way. _

_Alex, on the outside was avoiding as much heat as possible, while delivering his own attacks. The man was beginning to get dangerously tired. If he slowed up a little too much, he would likely take a lethal hit. As if by miracle, several laser cannon blasts rushed past him from behind and struck the enemy flagship hard. The Solomon had arrived with back up from all three allied worlds. "Sheesh! It's about time the cavalry arrived! I almost thought you guys wouldn't make it."_

"_Sorry, Alex," Lindsey called to her nephew outside. "We ran into a little trouble a little while back."_

_Behind Lindsey, sitting in the captain's chair, Leonidas stood from his seat and motioned with his hand outstretched before him. "All cannons, fire at will." The Solomon opened fire with all of the cannons and machine guns they had as the other fighters and warships, including Randorn's imperial cruiser, attacked as well. The black gear flagship wasn't a push over either. The gear-shaped ship's open center filled with violet energy. Leonidas saw this coming and had his fleet as far out of the as possible. Blitzkrieg's war ship unleashed the concentrated sphere, missing the Solomon and Randorn's cruiser, but vaporizing many fighters and several allied battleships. This latest assault had Leonidas wondering why Nat and Chris were taking their sweet time in shutting the monstrous ship down. _

_Inside the black gear ship, Chris had been using the high heat flamethrower in his palm to incinerate any machine that stood in their way. As they moved forward to a three-way junction in the hall, the black gears amassed from behind and started firing at their backs. One shot nailed Nat's behind, "Oohhh, my tingling butt cheeks, that smarts!" he cringed as he rounded the corner with Chris joining him. While the two were stuck in that hall, which apparently was a merely a large niche in the main hallway, enemies were on the way from behind and ahead of them. _

"_Hurting?" Chris asked as Nat observed the scorch marks on his titanium backside._

"_No more than I usually do from Princess's physical and mental abuse, but my fanny needs vengeance, NOW!" Nat poked himself out from the corner and threw an arch of lightning at the cluster of black gears, frying their circuits from within."Screw you and boo ya!" Chris took the other end and started crushing their bodies with his enflames fists. _

_After a long while of breaking things, the panting friends continued through the now rocking and shaking flagship. With an explosive entrance, the two came out to find that they had finally entered the command center. All enemy optics was on them, several hundred of them in fact. "This doesn't look good," Chris commented in his battle position._

"_It never is, and it's always Krystal's fault. Honestly, it makes me wish I could shave her blue head bald."_

_The mecha at the center, which one would assume was the leader because of the larger shoulder blades, pointed at them and gave an order to the others. "Destroy them both!" Almost as soon as it said that, everything shut down. The machines fell to the ground and the ships lights went out, leaving the two in pitch blackness. _

_At the same time, Allistor, who had been monitoring the large flow of paradox energy, witnessed an unbelievable spike of it, and something else that he'd never seen before, which lasted for only a split second. And then there was nothing. All of the paradox energy was just gone. The portal between the two realities was even disappearing, albeit at a slow pace. He watched the screen as black gears and dark stars shut down one after another. While this was supposedly a good thing, Allistor didn't like the spine tingling feeling he was getting from that spike._

_After a minute of waiting, the rocking and sounds of laser fire stopped. "Chris, I'm confused. Can you tell me if this is a good thing, cause this… I don't know… kinda sucks?"_

_Chris heated his body up to make himself give off a hot glow to light the dead space. "I think it's a little bit of both. Let's just get out of here." The two blasted their way out of the command window, and found Alex waiting for them. The two went to the youngest of them and asked, "Alex, what just happened?"_

"_I was about to ask you guys the same thing? The entire machine army just shutdown. What did you guys do in there?"_

_Nat turned around back to look at the dead ship, "Nothing. We fought our way to the center and then someone turned off all the lights." _

_Chris turned around and saw the flashes of laser fire off in the distance. "Someone's still fighting over there. Let's see if they know what happened." And that was when they caught up with fox and caught Fara's ship._

After hearing Nat's query, Leonidas got a message from his communications officer. Once he was finished listening, he relayed the message to the others. "I just got word on Light and Krystal. It seems they were successful in getting the kids back." At this, everyone reacted with murmurs and wide eyes. To everyone, not only were the children safe from harm, but it also meant that Blitzkrieg had been defeated. In their minds, that must have been the reason why all of the machines broke down so suddenly.

"Is there anything else," Timmy asked.

Leonidas shook his head 'no.' "We don't have any other details, except that they're on their way here right now in the ship they left in and that the portal is closed off." Momentarily satisfied with their situation, most of everyone decided to relax and wait for Light and Krystal to get back and give out the details themselves. Everyone except, Clouse, that is. He was expecting to see some sort of change and Fox and everyone's' minds like he predicted originally. For a moment, he wondered whether or not what he had told Krystal before was wrong… or if the Grand Cross was already damaged beyond repair. The inter-dimensional traveler's knowledge base may have been utterly extensive, but it wasn't perfect either. He allowed the possibility that he might have been wrong though. The memory problem with Falco still hung on his mind. He wondered if the memory shift would only change the Lylatians' memories. Still, he could feel something in the air around them. Almost like something was trying to reach out and have them choke on the air they breathed with.

Once Light and Krystal's ship arrived in the hanger, everyone's wait was over. A crowd of family, friends, and allies surrounded the four as the ship made dock in the Great Fox's hanger. As soon as the cockpit opened, the two kids jumped out from their parent's laps and ran into their grandparent's arms with tears freely flowing. Everyone turned from the kids to the parents. Light got out and, aside from looking rather beaten up, seemed okay, but there was clearly something off with his look and movements. Krystal however, didn't have that youthful or fiery spirit that usually had. Everyone's eyes settled on the vulpine and her palms, which looked matted and had a dark reddish liquid mixed into her blue fur.

Krystal walked past them in a trance-like state, vexing them further. "I'll… be in the restroom," she solemnly told them. When she was gone from sight, everyone looked to Light for an explanation. The look on his face was bitter sweet at best.

It didn't take long for Light to notice their stares, even though his mind was weighed down on other things. He knew what they were thinking, but hesitated to say a word. "Light," Krystal's mother began. She gave her son-in-law an earnest look. "Can you please tell me what's wrong with Krystal? Her eyes didn't have as much as a shine as it usually does. The last time I saw that look in here eyes, she lost you. What could have happened to my daughter this time?" Light sighed. He knew this couldn't be avoided, but how could a parent talk about the death of their child so easily?

While Light tried the best he could to explain the physically and emotionally painful battle he and his wife had went through, Krystal was hunched over the sink. She washed her son's blood off her hands and allowed her tears to mix in with the red murky water. At only half way finished, her legs buckled and she fell to her knees. Krystal laid her head against the marble sink and wept as she took the time to mourn over her son's death. 'This wasn't supposed to happen,' she thought to herself. Blitzkrieg was dead, but the despairing hole that monster made in her heart outweighed the joy she was supposed to be feeling at that moment.

Everyone else's feelings weren't as far off from Krystal's own. Despite their victory over the evil overlord, it felt like Blitzkrieg had truly beaten them. Many died in the short inter-dimensional war, but Marcus didn't deserve to die the way he did.

The sadness clear in their expressions, everyone stayed silent long after Light had finished his story. The Captain lowered his head and started to leave the room. "I'm going to set course for the Cerinian palace," then he left them to their thoughts. Everyone didn't stick together for much longer. Most left to their rooms, feeling woefully embittered.

Light waited in his and Krystal's room while the kids stayed with Sarah and Timmy. He stared out the window, letting himself sink deep in thought as he watched the stars. He didn't notice the door opening and closing, or even that someone came to stand by him. When he felt a furry cheek lay on his shoulder, he hissed in a low voice and finally took notice of his room mate. Said person lifted her head off of him after hearing his sharp intake of air, "Sorry about that. I forgot about your injuries."

"It's alright, Krystal. It doesn't really hurt that much. Leonidas said he'd send a nurse over later to help clean and dress the burns and gashes." A short silence followed.

"So, do you think it's finally over? Do you think we can finally go home after this… as a family?"

Krystal didn't sound as hopeful as her questions entailed. Light felt as hopeful as she sounded, considering blitzkrieg's final episode of madness, but he didn't want to take away her hopes completely. "Maybe we can. Blitzkrieg is gone now, and look around outside. The universe isn't collapsing around us. Maybe we defeated the Void, and I won't have to get into that cursed armor." Light paused and Krystal looked up to him. "However, I don't know what is actually going to happen. I can't guarantee you that we'll get everything we want or that we'll even see the sunrise tomorrow, but I can guarantee that I'll always do what needs to be done so that we and our children can have a future together, even if that future is uncertain."

Krystal knew what he was trying to say. "I understand." She understood alright, but that didn't mean she liked what her husband actually meant. The two tore their sight away from each other and turned back to the outside, where they could see the light of Cerinia's outermost atmosphere far off from their viewing window.

Elsewhere on the Solomon, Allistor was at his monitoring station looking over the books Clouse had given him. The books were bound in black leather and had a lock on each one. Clouse told him that he should give them his superiors when all of this was over completely, and not a moment before. Clouse also told him that no one could lay their own eyes on it, even himself. That really intrigued him. Clouse said it had something to do with the books not being finished yet… whatever that meant. Allistor was very interested by what could be hidden inside. As curious as he was with the books, he decided to put them off to the side to keep temptation from distracting him from work.

"Allistor," Lindsey called for his attention. "We're going to be landing in a few hours. I hear that there is going to be a feast. Just about everyone is going to be there. Are you going to joining us?" Lindsey was trying to lighten Allistor's mood, but hearing about Marcus just made him in one of his rare moods. He also wanted to keep watch on his monitor in case something happens.

"I think I'll just stay here and keep watch, but you go on ahead without me. If you can, try and bring some food to me later. I haven't really been eating much."

"I noticed," she said, proceeding to kiss him before going back to attend to her work.

Several hours passed by and the Solomon and its allied ships arrived to the surface with a resounding ovation from the crowd below. The people below cheered them on while they themselves felt pangs in their hearts.

Soon enough, the Solomon was in the hanger and everyone was ushered outside into the festivities. General Pepper, Randorn, and Leonidas sat side-by-side together, as the allied generals for this war. Honors were also being announced on both Earth and Cerinia, celebrating their heroes for defeated the 'evil alien empire.' While everyone ate and tried to stomach their food throughout the banquet, Allistor leaned his back into his seat for comfort. He hadn't slept much at all over the past few days and his exhaustion was beginning to get to him. As what was left of the day passed by, Allistor fought with his fluttering eyes and his nodding off head for the better part of an hour. Sleep eventually claimed its prize and Allistor was off in dreamland.

A short amount of time passed while the sleeping man snored softly in the comfort of his work seat. Then, on his monitor, an energy spike like no other rose past the peak that the monitoring machine could measure, and it stayed that way continuously. The Solomon's alarms and red alerts flared and resonated throughout the ship. Allistor's sensitive ears picked up the emergency sounds and it startled the man awake and slightly scared him to death. "What.. What…?"

'WARNING – WARNING,' the vocal alarm system blared. 'PARADOX ENERGY IS NOW BEYOND CRITICAL LEVELS – CAUTION: ALL HANDS TAKE EMERGENCY MEASURES IMMEDIATELY!'

Allistor directed his attention to the monitor and felt the hair on the back of his neck stiffen. His eyes widened like saucers and dilated all at the same time. The unusual energy he saw before was back with a vengeance. "Oh God, no! This is the one!" Allistor, awake and shaken to his core, ran as fast as his legs could possibly move him. He had to warn everyone, but he was afraid that it was already too late.

Everyone outside in the square sat down together and talked about they were going to do when they got home. The families of Light's friends were even present at the dinner table. The sun was setting in the Cerinian horizon and all eyes were glued to the sight. The scene was beautiful… until Allistor crashed the party… literally as his body inadvertently rammed into the dessert table. Lindsey and Brandon helped him up, but he pushed them away as soon as his feet were steady on the ground. "Allistor, are you alr…"

The explorer didn't even give the officer time to finish. "There's no time for that! Listen, everybody! You're all in real danger." The words passed through his lips just as the planet began to quake. The sky darkened with a blanket of unnatural, twisting clouds. Red bolts of lightning flashed, thundered angrily, and struck the ground all around the planet.

Light, Krystal and everyone else looked up into air and got a terrifying blast from ten years past. Red jagged cracks appeared in the sky above, just like before on the last night of Light and Krystal's honeymoon. "Oh, please, no," Nat whispered to himself.

The cracks spread and parts of the sky broke and disappeared, revealing the howling red oblivion on high. Alex had only ever revisited this scene in his darkest nightmares. "Oh no, could it be?"

"No, it couldn't be," Falco followed up.

Clouse stood before the rest of them and confirmed their fears. "It's the Void." They all returned their sight to the spreading evil above. Even after all they had gone through to prevent this exact event from manifesting; they stood there staring into end of the universe itself. Their true enemy was finally going to reveal himself.


	31. Shattered Sword, Broken Hope

**Authors Note****: Guess what today is guys. Today is the 3****rd**** Anniversay of the "Only a Girl" series. That's right, I've been writing this series for a good long while. And on this special day, I bring you the climax the third arc. For those of you who have been counting down, the last chapter is coming up next, near the beginning of August. Then very soon after that, we'll be saying our goodbyes in the epilogue. So, enjoy the chapter, and remember to ****READ & REVIEW****!**

**Special Announcement****: For those of you who are Megaman fans and don't know what has been going on for a while, listen up. Late last year Capcom announced Megaman Legends 3 for the 3DS(which is getting a massive price drop down to $169.99). When this game was announce MANY fans were ecstatic, especially me. I loved Megaman Legends 1 and 2 and I HIGHLY recommend them for anyone who hasn't played them. Not only was this game's announcement big, but it was also allowing the fans themselves to help make it and see what the game development process was like. A week and a half ago, the game was canceled and it was canceled for the most beaureucratic and bull crap reasons possible(I'll let you all research what those reasons for yourselves). This was not supposed to happen like this because Capcom had promised us that they would realease a $2 demo to gauge if this game was what the fans wanted. They lied. This was made even MORE personal when they said it was the FANS fault that this game was canceled. Ever since, Capcom has been the target of largest fan outcry ever in gaming history. So go here: **.com/GetMeOffTheMoon** and learn how you can help save Megaman. Because guess what? From what I heard, there is indeed hope that the fans CAN save Megaman from being utterly replaced by unoriginal Street Fighter clones.**

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**Chapter 30**

**Shattered Sword, Broken Hope**

Outside, terror and fear reigned supreme. The abnormal clouds' Red bolts of lightning crashed into Cerinia's surface, laying waste to the landscape. Most of the Cerinian people had been sent to underground emergency shelters to wait out the deadly storm.

Light, Krystal and the others stared up at the face of the Forlorn Knight, which stood up thanks to the restraints the Solomon provided. The group was quick to escape the storm that raged outside. And now, there Light stood, looking into the mech's lifeless eyes. Somehow, he knew deep inside that this was how it was going to end. "Are you sure about this?" Krystal asked.

Light shook his head. "It's not about whether or not I'm sure about this. It's more like I don't have a choice in the matter." His face then turned somber. "I'm going to do my best to give it everything I can to give you and the kids a future worth living in, even if I can't be a part of it."

Krystal rounded Light and slapped him across the face, eliciting gasps all across the room. All were in shock of the red mark imprinted on his face. She stared angrily into his eyes, "I REFUSE to believe that!" She embraced him and buried her face into his chest. "Even if you get in that… cursed thing," she muttered through the fabric of his shirt. "We will not stop until you come out of that thing alive and well."

Light returned the embrace with one of his own. As much as he wanted to believe her, he couldn't help but feel that he holding her for the last time. No one watching the scene took pleasure in what was about to happen. Dawn and Dusk, who were doing their best to hold their tears in and be brave, couldn't hold it any longer. The two jumped out of their saddened grandparent's arm and tackled their parents. "We don't want you to go, Daddy!" Dawn cried.

"Please, stay! Don't you love us anymore?" Dusk asked.

Heart strings were tugged all around as Light and Krystal held the children close to them. Light pulled them away a little so he could look them in the eyes. "We love you both so much. You two and your mother mean more to me than anything else in the world and that is why I HAVE to go. I don't know if you can really understand all of this, but I just want to say how proud I am of both of you. Especially when you were stuck as that bad guy's prisoner. That takes a lot of courage." Light looked to Dawn first, "Dawn, I can tell your going to grow up to be a beautiful and wonderful, young lady." Then he laid eyes on Dusk. "Dusk, you've gone through a lot over the past few years. Believe me when I say you'll be stronger for it." The two kids wiped away their tears and mustered up a small smile. "I'm going to do my best to come back, but if anything should happen, promise you'll take care of your mother for me, alright?" The two nodded and they shared another group hug.

"Light," called Joel, who had managed to wake up in time for the feast. The young man was still weak from blitzkrieg's possession, but that didn't stop him from continuing his work. "The preparations are almost ready. We're bringing Excalibur out now and the Solomon will carry you up to the anomaly, then from there, it's all you. I just want to say good luck to you and sorry for the mess I've made of things."

"Don't worry about it. No one could have seen any of that coming."

The younger man made his usual, and this time a genuine, smile. "Thanks, I appreciate it."

Soon, some technicians carted in the legendary sword, still in its containment unit. Allistor went up to the unit and typed in the code to open it. Light watched the sword become free of its magnetic prison and took hold of the sword by its hilt. "Light, everyone and I will not stop until we figure out a way to bring you out of this alive."

"Thanks. I'm sure you guys will find a way." Allistor had mixed emotions about all of this, but he knew this was the time to act. Light walked up to everyone to hug, shake hands, and kiss his parents cheeks. "Thanks guys, I'm proud to have all of you here backing me up." No one really wanted to say good bye, for fear of it actually being the last time they ever see him.

Fox, however, wasn't about to let it be this way and surprised Light by saying, "I'm going with you." The vulpine had all ears listening in wonder.

Light gave Fox a skeptical look. "Are you sure you want to do that? I don't know if you'll even make it through the entrance."

Fox nodded, "I'm sure. I've caused you a lot of trouble and we've come this far. I'm not letting you go out there alone without some sort of back up." Light looked to both of their friends and family to find that they reluctantly shared the same sentiments with Fox. No one wanted Light to go out there alone, but neither could they risk sending in the Solomon with him. There had to be people on the home front in case of a surprise attack.

"Alright," the two shook on it with a slap of their palms. "I'm counting on you." Fox grinned and nodded. Fox was taking a huge risk, and Light had nothing but respect for him.

Now that Light knew he wasn't going into unknown territory alone, it was time.

Light turned back to inspect the armor he was going to don. He couldn't help but wonder what the crystal spheres imbedded into its knees, chest, shoulders, and head was meant for. Other than the mech's grey armor and black joints, the more pronounce feature was the head. The machine had no mouth, but a folded plate of titanium like most of the mechs he had seen in cartoons. The eyes were black and devoid of any life.

Morganna had said most of its capabilities were a mystery to her. Light turned to Clouse and asked, "Clouse, you've been around a long time and watching us, right? Is there anything you can tell me about this thing?"

Clouse shook his head regrettably. "This is the same reason for why I couldn't show Krystal Blitzkrieg's fortress. An overwhelming power of darkness can blind my sight. I'm sorry; I don't know anything more than Morganna in regards to this machine."

'It figures,' Light though to himself. "That's alright. I guess I'll have to find out for myself." Everyone quieted and watched, some with balled fists at being helpless in this whole situation. None were more worried than the ones closest to Light. He outstretched the sword in his hand toward the Forlorn Knight's chest while the others held their breath in anticipation.

The Excalibur began to glow and shine in Light's hand, reminding Light of what it took for him to take the sword from the stone. Light had to embrace a dark corner of his soul then. Now, he had to embrace complete uncertainty. The sword was soon shining brighter until it unleashed several streams of colorless light into the mech's chest. In response to the light that was feeding it, the mechanical giant's chest plate began to rise and split apart. Without warning, a blinding flash filled the room. Everyone closed their eyes until their sightlessness passed. Surprising them, where Light had once stood with his sword, was a ball of blue flames. It floated there for a few seconds before shooting ahead into the mech's chest, which closed off right after.

Inside the machine, Light opened his eyes and felt the sensation one only gets by dreaming. Maybe he was, he guessed to himself. His eyes felt drowsy enough. His feet were suspended off the ground by nothing, if there was any ground where he was to begin with. "PREPARING FOR LIFE SYNCHRONIZATION," a male mechanical voice announced. Light briefly wondered what that meant until he felt three blue energy cables plug into his body. Light screamed in great pain as whatever plugged into him like a power socket began to course through his circulatory system. The pain soon subsided with the computerized voice saying, "SYNCHRONIZATION; COMPLETE." That slightly answered Light's mental question. It made sense to him as to why the machine would eventually take its user's life.

He turned around and felt one of the wires plugged into the back of his neck, while the other two were stuck in the back of Light's hands. While inspecting the intangible blue wires, Light's feet touched solid ground, which was still darkness under his feet. Following that, the darkness lifted and he finally gained sight of everything around him.

Outside, they watch as the mech's eyes turn from dead black to a bright ocean blue, contrasting greatly with the knight's darker colors. The mech stepped forward, breaking the wires and metal restraints. The Forlorn Knight looked around, making the ones at its feet feel a little nervous. "Light," Krystal spoke up, hoping she would get the machine's attention. The knight apparently heard her and looked down to see the small furry female.

"Krystal? Is that you?" a layered, but familiar voice asked.

"Yes," she nodded.

"This is so strange." From inside the knight's core, when Light moved his hand in front of him, he could see a mechanical one out in front of his 360-degree viewer. With every turn he made with his head to look around, the knight's head moved with him. "Every move I make, the machine was mimics."

Leonidas then raised his voice to Light, "Listen, the Solomon will be lifting off in less than ten minutes. Are you ready?"

Light nodded, "As ready as I'll ever be."

Dusk impulsively said out loud, "Wow, my dad's a giant robot." No doubt, the child was greatly frightened at the prospect of losing his father all over again. At the same time however, the child looked in awe at the sight of his father, and he wasn't the only one.

Once all of the preparations were finished, Leonidas had everyone who wished to accompany Light board the Solomon, while the workers helped Light to carefully climb on top of the ship like a surf board.

Everyone convened in the Solomon's command room, except Fox and Fara who were in the attached Great Fox. The two were in Fox's room, with Fox at his desk while slipping on his pilot gloves and Fara sitting on his bed. "Fox, please be careful out there for me, promise?"

Fox smiled to her as he felt the ship begin to lift off. "I promise. I'll make sure Light and I get back in no time. Once we're back, we can all go home."

Fara stood up and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "That is something I can hardly wait for." The two kissed long and softly before Fox had to pull away to get to his repaired arwing. It was a good thing that Rob and Slippy could work so fast.

The Solomon soon left the hanger entrance and entered the raging storm that threatened their world. The red jagged hole in the sky had more than tripled in size by the time they reached it. The trip was more than a test of endurance. Red lightning cracked around them as powerful winds tried pushing Light off the ship. The closer they got, the harder the Solomon's crew had to push the thrusters. Fox had to have Light keep a hold of his arwing to keep from being blown away by the turbulence.

Being right next to the world of the Void, they could hear a shrieking like a banshee screaming out in pain. "This is it, you two," Leonidas' voice called through the outside speakers. "We'll be waiting for you both to return on the planet's surface. Good luck and Godspeed." Everyone on the bridge felt the same and tried to keep a steady heart in anticipation of what the outcome of this mission might be.

With encouragement and safe wishes from family and friends, Light leaped into the Void with Fox holding tightly to his controls and making sure his seat belt was properly fastened. As they crossed through the portal, they both had the exact same thought.

'I'll see you all again. I promise.'

…

Blood. The smell and color of the red liquid filled their senses. Light and Fox looked around themselves. Fox's arwing was gone, as was Light's mech. The two men inexplicably found themselves standing on a flat coal and ashen rock surface, floating out in the middle of the lonesome red space. "**WELCOME BACK HOME, MY SON.**"

Light and Fox jumped. That deep, dark, and booming voice came from no where and yet, it sounded like it came from everywhere. "**OVER HERE.**" This time, the two were able to pick up the voice's direction with their ears. Fox's hearing, being far keener, looked to the center of the flat rock. A giant throne of violet marble faded into existence. The throne's seat was empty at first before a shadowy entity also faded in. Light and Fox's eyes weren't playing tricks on them. Despite how their visions had a perfect and undisturbed view of every little detail on the floating rock, there was no detail in the entity's shadowy visage, except the narrowed, lavender eyes and the outline of a humanoid figure.

Illusion of the eyes or not, it was clear who they were facing. "Malxifel," Light whispered with a slight hiss. Both of them took a battle stance, even though they didn't know what they could presently do in case the giant attacked them.

The entity chuckled in his throat, "**YES, THAT IS WHAT I AM CALLED.**"

"What do you want, Malxifel!"

The Entity laughed again, "**WHAT I WANT IS THOU.**"

Fox had already heard this from Clouse and felt anger well up, "Like I'll let you take him!" Fox reached for his blaster at his waist, but couldn't find it and instead settled on running at the dark colossus.

Malxifel barely twitched his fingers when Fox was met with a high voltage force field. "AAAAAAAHHHH!" The pilot was being fried from the inside-out and hurled back with a skip and a drag on the ground.

Light ran over to examine his ally. As tough as fox was, the guy twitched from the violent jolts and was just in bad shape. Light glared at the ancient being in front of him. "**NOW, WE MAY SPEAK EVENLY TO EACH OTHER, MY SON.**"

Light growled at Malxifel, feeling utterly insulted. "Why do you keep calling me that! I am not YOUR son! My father's name is Tim Kindley, and my Mother's name is Sarah Kindley!"

Light could practically imagine the smirk on the giant's mouth, if he could make one out. "**AH, BUT MY DARKNESS RUNS THROUGH THY VEINS. I'VE WATCHED THEE FOR A LONG TIME. TEN THOUSAND YEARS AGO, I ATTACKED THY WORLD. DOST THOU UNDERSTAND WHY?**"

Light's silence was the only thing the ancient creature needed for confirmation. It was true though, Light thought. He was curious as to what this whole ordeal had been about. Light received the lowdown from Krystal, Clouse and the others, but that didn't mean he understood why Malxifel wanted to destroy the universe.

"**MINE PURPOSE HAS BEEN, AND ALWAYS WILL BE, TO BRING EXISTANCE ITSELF FULL CIRCLE. FOR AS LONG AS THERE HAS BEEN LIGHT, THERE HAS BEEN DARKNESS. LIGHT HAS ALWAYS SOUGHT TO CREATE LIFE, WHILE DARKNESS HAS ALWAYS SOUGHT TO SWALLOW IT. IT IS A VICIOUS CYCLE THAT HAS CARRODED THE HISTORY OF EXISTANCE. AND TODAY, THAT CYCLE WILL END. THROUGH THE ULTIMATE CHAOS THAT I WILL INSTIGATE, BOTH LIGHT AND DARKNESS WILL CEASE TO BE. AND SO, ENDS THE CYCLE THAT IS LIFE AND DEATH.**" The dark colossus narrowed his eyes down toward Light. "**I HAD NEARLY SUCCEEDED THEN, BUT THEN THEY SEPERATED THOU'S PREVIOUS INCARNATION FROM ME. AND SO, I WAITED, BIDING MY TIME UNTIL I HAVE MY VISION OF ABSOLUTE CHAOS COME TO FRUITION.**"

Light had a feeling he knew where this going.

"**THEN, AFTER AN EON OF WAITING, I FELT THE PRESENCE OF MY POWER OUT THERE. IT HAD BEEN SEVERELY WEAKENED AND SUSEQUENTLY DESTROYED ALMOST AS SOON AS IT HAD SHOWN ITSELF. BUT MY DARKNESS DID NOT DIE COMPLETELY, NO. THROUGH HUMAN PARENTS, THOU WERE REBORN ANEW. I HAVE SEEN THEE IN YOUR BATTLES, SEARCHING DEEP WITHIN THYSELF AND USING MY POWER, A LITTLE MORE WITH EVERY BATTLE. THOU ARE STILL NOT QUITE AS POWERFUL AS THY PREVIOUS INCARNATION ONCE WAS, BUT THE SHEER AMOUNT OF PARADOX ENERGY THOU AND THY WIFE HAS PRODUCE WILL BE MORE THAN ENOUGH TO MAKE UP FOR IT.**" Then Malxifel paused to outstretch his arm and open his hand in a seemingly friendly-like gesture. "**AND NOW, I EXTEND THIS INVITATION TO THEE. JOIN ME AND BECOME MY AVATAR ONCE AGAIN. TOGETHER, LET US SEND THIS FAILED EXPERIMENT CALLED 'EXISTANCE' TO THE DARKNESS OF THE VOID!**"

Before Light could answer, Fox gripped Light's shirt and pulled himself up while straining to say, "Don't do it, Light. Don't listen to him." After hearing the vulpine pilot's words, Light glared daggers at Malxifel.

"**IS THAT THY ANSWER?**"

Light helped Fox up and stood his ground. "It was never in question. I'll never join up with you, but I do think that someone here should no longer be allowed to exist."

Malxifel retracted his hand away. "**IF THAT IS THINE DECISION, THEN I SUPPOSE THE FRAGMENT WILL HAVE TO DO. WITH THAT SETTLED…**" The shadowy figure of Malxifel then stood up from his throne and looked down on them, "**THY EFFORTS SHALL END WITH ME!**" Then, with that declaration of war, all three disappeared in a veil of a red light.

Back on Cerinia, the Solomon had set itself on the planet's surface, but the storm rocked the ship while everyone inside worked hard to come up with a solution to save Light's life. Krystal was working especially hard. Allistor had his eyes stuck to his monitors. The guy felt like he was going to die from the stress he was under. As all of the workers struggled to keep things in order, the only calm one on the bridge was the Captain. While his CO, Brandon, kept giving out orders to increase and decrease the ship's shields, Leonidas was still as stone. His eyes did nothing but focus on what was happening outside. Then he noticed something strange and unsettling. The storm was dying, and it was dying too quickly to be natural. The storm clouds didn't disappear and the Void hole was still present. Lindsey had been hard at work at her station as well when her monitor told her something interesting. "Captain, something is coming out of the Void portal!"

That was what Leonidas was waiting for. "All hands to battle stations, something is coming out of the anomaly." With that announcement, everyone got ready for what might come. Krystal and Joel stopped what they were doing and ran to the command room. The whole gang of adventurers was already present by the time they arrived. Now, they were going to learn of their impending fate. Before long, they saw Fox's arwing fly out of the portal and make a crash landing close by. "FOX!" Fara and Peppy yelled out. Without hesitation, the Starfox team made a run to check on their leader. Following them was Krystal, Light's friends, and Saber. They all needed answers and they hoped Fox was still alive to offer a few. No one attempted to stop the group from leaving, but the Captain could feel that that wasn't the only thing coming out of the portal.

Krystal, Fara, and the others made it in no time to see the wrecked ship with protruding wires and sparks flaring up between the armor plating. Slippy and Falco jumped up to the cockpit hatch and forced it open. Fox was still there and breathing, but he looked a little messed up. His forehead was matted down with a bit of blood and it appeared his left arm was broken. Other than that, he looked well enough. The frog and falcon helped their friend out of the ship and onto the ground. Fara grasped him close to her and asked, "Fox! Fox! Are you alright! Please tell us, what happened in there? Where's Light?"

Fox regained his composure as he was bombarded with questions from the others, but didn't know how to answer them. He didn't have to, as two giant spheres of red energy flew out of the Void tunnel and crashed to the planet's surface. Fox pointed out behind them and they followed his gesture with their eyes. The two spheres landed on the ground several hundred meters away from the Solomon. The spheres of swirling energy soon dissipated and in their place were two towering figures. One of them was Light, answering one of their questions, but the other…

For the first time, Light, as well everyone watching, was able to get a full glimpse of their opponent. Deep black armor covered his most body; much like Nat's and the other's clout raiment's. Around his waist was a silver belt with an amethyst colored diamond embedded in the center. His chest and abdominal armor plating was thick and looked very strong. On each side of the chest plate was an image of silver half-crescents running from the top-outer lining down to the center of the sternum. His paldrons were bulbous with spiral spikes on top. His greaves were primarily black with jagged, red, diagonal streaks going down the side and to the front. The gauntlets he wore were like those of a medieval knight, but with rubies encrusted along the top in a straight line and an open slit ran across the outer side. Even through his gloved hands, one could tell they were actually the claws of a very ancient creature. It was the helm that truly caught attention. Other than the eye sockets, the black helm covered the entire head and neck. On top was a single pointed fin, and diagonal to each side were three sided horns with flat tips instead of sharp points. His mouth was completely covered by a metal plate very similar to the Forlorn Knight's, but that did nothing to block his deep booming voice. And finally, his eyes sockets were the same bright amethyst glow that his shadowy self had.

This evil being was clearly the one they had been dreading. Malxifel, in his truest form. "If anyone can hear a chattering, that's my teeth," Nat announced, stunned where he was in fear.

Krystal was the first to break her eyes away. "Come on, we need to get to the Solomon, fast."

Those who were already on the Solomon stayed in silence as the two giants stared each other down for what seemed like forever. Brandon, who had tried to remain calm, let his rashness get the best of him and yelled out, "Fire the main cannons." The people on the bridge reluctantly did as they were told, but the cannons did nothing.

"Sir, the cannons aren't firing! None of the weapons are firing!" a bridge bunny called out.

Lindsey then got their attention, "Captain, almost all of our machines are non-responsive. Communications are still online, but I'm getting reports from all allied forces saying all of their ship's functions, besides communications, are down!"

Leonidas wondered what was causing all of these malfunctions until Clouse spoke up. "It's Malxifel. Just the very weight of that creature's darkness is making all of our ships and weapons useless. The only weapon we really have left to us now is Light." Krystal and the others soon arrived to the bridge, as well as Light and Krystal's parents and the kids. It had been decided in their minds. No matter the end result, they were going put their trust in Light and watch him until the end.

Outside the Solomon, Light held out his hand and a sword materialized. It was the Excalibur, except it was now colossal in size to match its wielder. Malxifel also held out his hand and a blade made up entirely of raging violet flames appeared. Krystal, Allistor, and Light's friends immediately recognized the sword. Other than the color, it was the same one that Light had used a decade before at their first battle in England. They had always wondered where that one came from.

"**I'M GOING TO HAVE THY FAMILY WATCH AS I DESTROY THEE. WITH THIS BATTLE, ALL OF THOU'S HOPES WILL BE LOST.**"

Light held out his sword straight out to the side as he made small steps towards the evil entity. "I don't want any more words between us, Malxifel. I just want you to be gone!"

"**VERY WELL, THEN LET US SPEAK THROUGH OUR BLADES!**" Light's crushing metal feet ran at Malxifel and jumped into the air. Light brought his sword down from high, but Malxifel didn't make a move to dodge it. Malxifel quickly brought the flaming blade up and deflected the incoming strike. After landing back on the ground, Light twisted his body around started swing Excalibur left and right to get at the demon. Malxifel perfectly parried each slash Light made.

The young man changed sharply changed his tactics and aimed to stab into Malxifel abdominal. The Void monster blocked once more and slammed his palm onto Light's chest. A blast of violet energy rushed out of the demon's palm and carried Light across the distance and into the sky above. The blast exploded in the sky and Malxifel let loose violet energy strings to catch Light's body from falling, only to slam him to the ground. Krystal clinched her eyes closed at the scene. She could hardly bare to watch and not be able to do anything about it.

Light unsteadily pushed his arms up and tried to get back on his feet. As soon as he was back up, an arrow-head shaped energy blast fried Light's shoulder, leaving the paldron burned and cracked. Light snapped his head forward to see Malxifel slowly approaching with similar energy constructs materializing all around him. While walking, Malxifel opened his palm out, silently ordering the arrows forward. Light started spinning Excalibur to deflect as much of the hail of the attacks as possible, as he had against Blitzkrieg. Just like before, one got through, striking his knee and allowing many others to hit their targets. One after another, Light was beginning to become numb to his surroundings, knowing only the pain that continued to bombard him. Once close enough, Malxifel ended his barrage and slashed horizontally. Light defended quick and tried to assault back, slashing forward to gain some ground. Malxifel didn't move an inch and deflected the attacks with ease.

Realizing his current tactic was failing, Light switched gears and jumped back to distance himself from his foe. Light ran at Malxifel once, but jumped over his enemy's head, going for the Void demon's head while in midair, slightly surprising his opponent. Light's attack was blocked, but when he landed, Light made a diagonal back slash. Taking advantage of Malxifel's momentary surprise, the sword made a slight break through the dark armor, but it didn't sink in deep enough to cut the skin, assuming he had any. Malxifel wasn't about that happen again. The Void creature blasted a zigzagging dark wave at Light. The young man blocked with his sword, but the wave pushed him a good distance away with his feet digging through the ground.

"**HMPH, THY COMBAT SKILLS ARE IMPRESSIVE. CONSIDERING THOU ART STILL ONLY IN THY HUMAN FORM, IT IS AN ACHIEVEMENT THAT THOU HAVE EVEN BEEN ABLE TO FIGHT ME IN THIS MANNER. ALL THANKS TO THY CHOSEN WIFE, NO DOUBT. AS THOU ARE NOW THOUGH, THEE IS STILL ARE FAR TOO WEAK TO DEFEAT ME.**" Dotting the point he was trying to make, Malxifel's tri-sided horns began to glow. The right one blue and the left one red. "**FROZEN FLAME!**" The two horns unleashed waves of freezing ice and scorching flames at Light, who tried to sidestep the two attacks. The ice wave missed and froze the trees in the forest behind him. The fire wave did not miss. It caught Light's leg, wrapping it in flames. Even from the supposed safety of the mech, Light could feel the burning sensation and screamed out in agonizing pain. When the flames dispersed, it looked like the leggings had almost been melted through.

Malxifel was right. At the rate Light was going, he was going to be overwhelmed by just the pain alone. Even though he didn't know it was going to work from inside the machine, Light did what he had done before and reached down inside of himself. As soon as Light felt that power, something went wrong. For a moment, Light's heart seemed to stop. For no foreseeable reason, Light felt his body electrify itself. The pain was unbearable. Once the initial shocks had subsided, Light fell to his knees, barely able to keep hold of his sword. Krystal and the others immediately knew this was not something that was supposed to happen. "What… is this?" His body, still reeling from the jolt that invaded his flesh, was also paralyzed for the most part.

Malxifel cackled lowly at him. "**UNLIKE THOU, I HAVE A FAIR AMOUNT OF KNOWLEDGE REGUARDING THAT WEAPON IN THY POSSESSION. IT WAS MADE SPECIFACALLY TO REPEL MY DARKNESS. AS THOU ARE, YOU ARE TOO WEAK TO BRING OUT THAT WEAPON'S FULL POTENTIAL. HOWEVER, BY TRYING TO USE MY POWER, THE SUIT VIOLENTLY REJECTS THEE. BUT THEN AGAIN, THOU DOST NEED THAT POWER IF THOU ARE EVER TO HOPE TO DEFEAT ME.**" Malxifel was right. With the pulsations of his electrocution running through his system, Light couldn't keep full control of his muscles. Before he knew it, Malxifel was towered above him. The villain silently raised his flaming sword and brought it down to Light's head.

With his last burst of will power, Light forced his twitching body to react and the two swords collided with a phenomenal impact. The two pushed their blades together against the other until Light noticed something that made him quiver inside. Excalibur's blade was freezing, burning… and cracking. In a final push, Malxifel slashed through Light's last defense and, in a single heart breaking moment, shattered Excalibur to pieces. "…No…," he whispered.

A heavy silence ensued. Light's body refused to move, despite the desperate wail aching to come out. Malxifel willed his sword to disappear. "**THIS BATTLE IS OVER.**" Malxifel turned his back on a broken Light and opened a portal in the ground. "**BE GRATEFUL I'M SPARING THY LIFE. FOR WHAT LITTLE PRECIOUS TIME THY MAY HAVE LEFT, SPEND IT WISELY.**" Then Malxifel entered the newly formed portal and left. While going through the tunnel, he spoke to himself, "**AND NOW, FRAGMENT. FULFILL THY PURPOSE, AND ALLOW ME TO REACH THE HIEGHT OF MINE DESIRES AND DIE AT LONG LAST!**"

Back on Cerinia, Light was frozen to where he was. Krystal and the others were flabbergasted. Excaliber was destroyed. Light was simply no match for Malxifel. Was this really the end for them and their hopes for the future?

* * *

**Author's Note****: I hope you guys enjoyed this 3****rd**** anniversary special. One chapter left… Remember that. And as a reminder, remember to go here: .com/GetMeOffTheMoon**** to help show your support for Megaman.**


	32. Breaking the Barriers

**Author's note****: We're here. The final(and longest) chapter is upon us at last. You probably didn't expect to see me again so fast, didn't you? Well I tell you, I have daydreamed of and imagined this moment for so long that I couldn't hardly wait to get to work on it. Now before we get started I'd like to ask that you all send me as many questions as you want to ask me, because I'm going to post those answers before the epilogue comes in a few days to tie everything up and we say our goodbyes. This has been one wild ride guys. When this is all over, I'm going to ask some admins to have my stories put up on the Krystal archives website to make them easier to find for later and for other people who haven't read them yet and would like to. If that doesn't work, then I'll post links on my web page and profile. So, enjoy the last chapter and remember to **_**READ & REVIEW**_**. **

**!Music Alert!****: The first song is called "Burn my Dread," and the second is called "Free," by Crush 40.**

**Special Alert****: This is the same as the last chapters. If you are a Megaman fan and you don't like that they cruelly canceled both Megaman games(especially Megaman Legends 3) that were scheduled for release, please go to to find out how you can help get Megaman off that freaking moon. Go now, tell your friends!**

* * *

**Chapter 31**

**Breaking the Barriers**

Malxifel was gone, leaving his portal open in his escape, but it slowly shrank with each second. Light had been beaten to his knees. His mind was devastated by grief and disappointment. Excalibur was scattered about the ground in pieces. Then Light murmured a quiet "sorry." Then he said louder so everyone can hear better, "I'm sorry. I wasn't able to beat him."

Everyone's hearts sunk at those despairing words. Everyone that is, but Krystal. "…Don't say that…" Light heard her through the Solomon's speakers.

Light felt even guiltier for losing. "…But, the sword."

"Forget the sword!" With those heated words, a miracle was beginning to happen. No one would ever know exactly what happened but, for the first time in a decade, the sapphire from Light's staff was beginning to come to life on it's own from within the machine that contained it. "Stop feeling so sorry all of the time! I had to…," she admitted in a more gentle tone. "In order to save your life, I had to change my heart. I had to stop being so weak all of the time." Unknowingly, Light's sapphire shone brighter every time Krystal spoke. "No matter what. Never give up and never surrender. Even if Excalibur is gone, you still have your mind, right? Then the fight isn't over until it is over."

Light hung his head. He didn't know whether it was through defeat or the shame he was feeling. "Even if I do fight, I've already lost to him once and he didn't lose a single drop of sweat fighting me. You saw that for yourself. I tried to tap into that power, but it backfired. I wasn't even able to beat Blitzkrieg on my own." The loud speaker was quiet for a minute, making Light think that Krystal fully understood the position they were in.

"Then don't go out there alone."

Light's head raised a little, vexed by her answer. "What?"

Krystal herself didn't know exactly what she was saying. Her heart was speaking on its own accord, but she did nothing to quell the words coming out. All she knew was that she had to say them. Alex, Chris, and Nat felt the same way. "If you can't fight alone, then don't." just as she spoke then, her body began to sparkle and a blue aura outlined her body, but she took no notice. "If you don't have the will to fight alone…," she began. In mid-sentence, she faded out of sight.

From within the machine, Light felt another presence. Two blue furred arms wrapped around his neck and embraced him with a furry check nuzzling his own lovingly. From the corners of his eyes, he saw two extended angel wings extend on either side of him a protective manner. Light instantly knew who it was, but he hadn't seen his angel's wings since they first defeated Blitzkrieg. "But, how?" he asked no one in particular.

She didn't answer his question, instead she finished what she was trying to say before. "…then borrow some of ours," she said in an audible, but hushed voice. Gasps and exchanges were passed around the Solomon's bridge on how such a miracle could occur. Even more so, when the machine grew wings similar Krystal's own. No one bothered to notice that Light's friends were gone as well.

"You can't give up yet, Bulby." Light moved his eyes away from Krystal's and looked outside. Surrounding the mech's head, the three armored friends floated in the air and in light's vision. Light focused on the yellow lightning warrior, silently allowing him to continue. "If we go down now, then I'll never be able to enjoy the rest of my vacation."

"Light, if you really think this is a job you can't handle alone, then not another word." Chris' smirk was noticeable, even when covered by his crimson helm. "We've got your back."

"Light, we need you. You've never given up on us before, so why start now. Even if it looks like your lower now than ever before, you can only go up from here on, and we'll be there pushing you until you reach the peak," Alex stated definitively.

"You can do it, Daddy," Dawn shouted over the load speakers.

"We believe in you, Dad. You saved us from the last bad guy, and we know you can save us from this one too." Dusk cheered on just as heartily as his twin.

"You guys." Light smiled as he felt his friends and family's encouragement flow through his mind. They hadn't given up on him. They still had hope for a future that may already be dead. With newfound strength, courage, and more will power than he thought he could muster, Light stood up. "You're right."

Krystal pecked Light's cheek, "We know we're right. Now then, no more stalling."

Light nodded. "Thanks, everyone. Honestly, I don't know where I'd be without any of you."

"Dead, for one," Nat commented to the side.

Light chuckled a bit, "Right." Turned to the Solomon, "Mom, Dad, kids, sit tight. We'll be right back after we deal with Malxifel." Everyone nodded their encouragement, even if Light couldn't really see them all. "Let's go, guys," Light yelled as he ran to the closing portal. Before it could close off, Light and Krystal, with the other three friends following behind, dove into the tunnel before it could shut completely. As they left from the Solomon's sight, Fara whispered, "Good luck."

Light and his friends fell down, through the seemingly unending rabbit hole. Light and everyone had already figured out that the dimensional tunnels had many variants of color. Compared to the violet tunnel that lead to Atlantis and the blue tunnels Clouse had been leading them through, this tunnel was an eerie green. After falling for a short time, but practically an eternity, the team finally saw the light of the exit below.

The group came out the other end to a worrisome and disturbing sight. Light and his friends hovered above and took in the scene below. The giant globular room they had come out to was the same eerie color as the tunnel that led them there. From near the ceiling of the room, they saw black tendrils spread out around the lower hemisphere of the rounded room. Each end of the black web-like strings was latched onto every one of the thousands of floating multicolored crystals they could see. At the very bottom tip of the room was what looked to be another tunnel, but it looked like thousands of layers of barriers had sealed it off. A second later into their observing, one of the crystals lost its shimmer and shattered into dust. The tendril that was latched onto it retracted from its position and went back to its place of origin and the reason why Light and everyone's minds had suddenly gripped in fear. The origin of the black web was a huge black mass in the center. The sight of it practically reminded Light of a tumor.

Malxifel was no where in sight, but standing on top of the dark bulb was someone Light and Krystal had thought they were done dealing with. "Blitzkrieg!" Light bellowed. The dark sorcerer smirked with glee and acknowledged Light and his friends with a small bow of his head.

"Honestly," Krystal groaned in frustration. "How many times do we have to kill you, before you finally get the point?"

"Hello again to you as well, Krystal." Blitzkrieg gestured with his hand for Light to come closer. Light did so, and carefully flew to where he was hovering just above the web. Light made sure to keep a close eye on Blitzkrieg, in case he made any sudden movements. "Welcome, brother, to the nerve center of the Grand Cross itself."

Light, Krystal, and their friends eyed Blitzkrieg suspiciously. "Where's Malxifel, Blitzkrieg?"

Blitzkrieg cackled at the question. "Malxifel… is dead."

In that moment, Light felt like the world no longer made any reasonable sense. "What? But, how?"

"Just look around you. Malxifel is gone because he had to give all of his power to me. Alone, Malxifel is powerful, but it used to be that he couldn't leave his realm, so he created an emissary; you. His emissary is strong, but not as powerful as Malxifel, so he could move between worlds to collect paradox energy, so as to end all life in existence. All of this, you already know. However, what none of us knew was how he intended to end everything, including himself. The last time we fought, he promised to show me my true purpose, and he fulfilled that promise." Blitzkrieg let his mad laughter out for everyone to hear. "As it turns out, he, his emissary, and the paradox energy individually can't break the barriers that separated him from his ultimate goal. But by combining the three, he would be able to create the ultimate force of destruction… me. In order to do all of this, he needed an emissary. It could have been you, brother."

"Yes, it could have been me, but my family saved me from that fate."

Blitzkrieg waved a finger at Light, "tsk, tsk. Malxifel used every once of energy he had until his very life had ceased to give me an absolute power that not even he could have hoped to generate." The tyrant laughed ironically to himself. "I was intending on killing him to take his power for my own, but who could have guessed that was what he intended for me? Fate truly is a strange mistress, isn't she? And now, here we are. Sibling emissaries. Both of us, born anew. I'm about to fulfill my purpose, and I have one question for you."

Before continuing his classic villain monologue, Blitzkrieg raised high into the air through his will. He grew in size to match Light's own, and donned a set of armor as well. It was much the same as Malxifels, but with Blitzkrieg's spin on the armor's appearance. A black, tattered, double cape clasped to the back of the armor's neck, flowing with Blitzkrieg's every move. The spiral spikes on the bulb paldrons were replaced by curved thorns. The fin on top was also replaced by a third horn of the same kind as the other two on the sides, but nearly twice as large. The forearms of the gauntlets were completely different, being massive in size with a polished sheen, but allowing his hands at the end to be normal sized. Unlike Malxifel though, who used a violet flame sword, the backs of each of his forearms protruded two curved crimson blades that closely resembled the energy scythe he used to kill Marcus. What didn't escape the gang's observations was the continuously extending black cable running from their enemy's spine back to the bulb where the web was coming from.

"If you couldn't defeat either Malxifel or me, what makes you think you can overcome our combined power?"

Light took his Cerinian ice battle stance, readying himself for the fight of his and everyone's lives. "My friends and family still have hope for the future, even if it looks like there isn't one right now. I'm not about to let their hopes go to waste. Here me now, Blitzkrieg, this war between us will end here today."

"Yes, it will indeed end here… WITH THE UNIVERSE'S DEMISE!" Blitzkrieg charged through the air with his scythes aiming to slice the Forlorn Knight to shreds. Without Excalibur, Light only had Krystal's training to fight with and her wings to help him maneuver in this battle. With a quick and precise movement of his hands, Light was able to catch the tyrant's wrists to keep the blades from making their marks.

While Light did his best to hold off Blitzkrieg's attack, Krystal covertly made a mental shout out to the others, who had scattered in different directions to avoid the oncoming attack. "_Guys, listen up! Light and I we'll keep this guy preoccupied, but you three need to destroy all of those tendrils! It's those crystals that are keeping that tunnel sealed off down there. If all of those crystal's go then so does the barriers to Earth Prime. We CAN'T let that happen under any circumstances, or we're done for!_" Krystal received each of the guys' mental 'okays' and relayed it to Light. "Alright Light, the guys have their job and we have ours."

Light smirked in spite of the deadly position they were currently in. "Then let's get to work." Light muscled his way to push off Blitzkrieg, who, unlike Malxifel, was not going to hold any punches back. Light slammed his right palm into Blitzkrieg's chest, intent on causing as much damage while being conservative with his attacks. Unlike the past though, the attack didn't seem to have any effect on him.

As Light moved back he felt Blitzkrieg's metal boot drive into his chest, rocketing the young man into the wall of the room. Light bounced of the wall and recovered just long enough to move out of the way of the crimson energy blades about to be jammed into his body. The scythe blades jammed right through the wall, leaving two rips that revealed the Void space outside. Light used the opportunity to kick Blitzkrieg into the wall just as the tyrant had done to him and made a bee line down into black labyrinth below.

Blitzkrieg pushed himself away from the wall with a snarl of anger at being slammed into the wall like that, and looked down at the escaping Light. "You can't escape me, brother!" Blitzkrieg opened his palm out and fired a burst of red energy blasts. Light felt the blasts explode into his back, making him and Krystal lose control of the mech's wings. They landed, stomach first, into one of the webs thinner outer threads. The tendrils weren't sticky like an actual web, but hard to the touch. Light felt the air get knocked of him from the crash landing, but didn't get much of a chance to recover most of that lost breath when Krystal yelled, "Light, look up!"

The monster was already rocketing toward Light, grinding down one of the higher tendrils like a rail with sparks at his feet. Light ducked just before Blitzkrieg could decapitate him. The young man pushed himself on top of the tendril and proceeded to grind down it until he was riding as fast as his foe. Blitzkrieg saw Light coming and flew at the speeding knight. Light open-palm punched the underside of Blitzkrieg's wrist. From the looks of it, it had no effect, but it did make Blitzkrieg grin maliciously under his helm. The fiend grabbed Light's shoulders to hold the young man still as he started to continuously drive black armored knees into his gut. With each hit, Light could feel his internal organs twist and rearrange themselves. Soon enough, Blitzkrieg tired of his own assault and threw Light high into the air. Blitzkrieg summoned violet arrow shaped energy constructs around his body like Malxifel and fired them.

"Light, below!" Krystal directed. Light saw them coming, but knew he couldn't dodge them all. Krystal extended the mech's wings and wrapped them partly around Light. When the energy bolts started pounding them, they mostly hit the wings. Krystal let out a long hiss of pain. "Krystal? Are you alright?"

"I'll be fine," she said through clenched teeth. Krystal was putting herself in harms way for Light, and he didn't like that. The wings came from her, and they were getting the brunt of the attack. Light felt some pulses of pain as well, but wasn't going to allow Krystal to hurt herself anymore than she already had.

"Krystal, I need you to open your wings!" She reluctantly did as she was told and Light took control again, flying straight down with bolts hitting and missing him on the way down. Light started weaving through the web with Blitzkrieg on his tail while firing more bolts than ever. Light had to think of something fast before he got nailed in the back by those bolts. Light then remembered the cord connecting Blitzkrieg to that black mass in the center of the web and came up with an idea that might work. He just had to lose the freak following him before he could do anything else.

In the mean time, Light's friends were hard at work trying to break the tendrils. Being much smaller than the two giants battling it out all around the room, the tendrils of the web weren't as much rails as they were bridges to the three multicolored warriors. "I can't believe this!" Nat growled. The lightning warrior had been thrusting at the tendrils with his halberd and tried to electrocute them as well. Nothing seemed to work. The story was the same for the other guys. Chris unleashed strings of napalm all over the black strings while Alex tried to cut them with sharp gales of wind.

"I can't believe how much this is sucking!" Alex raged. Nothing the three did would work, so they regrouped together on a different string of webbing.

"Any luck with you guys?" Chris asked.

"Are you kidding, we can't even scratch these things, let alone break them," Nat retorted. As he said that, several more barrier crystals lost their light and shattered.

"Um… guys, look behind you." Alex had a finger pointed behind them, of which the other two followed its direction. An army of black gears began to rise and form from the tendrils. Just like Blitzkrieg they also had cords coming out of their backs and connecting them to the surface of the tendril. After forming, the army immediately raised their arm cannons at the three pests in their line of sight.

"Dear God, not those guys again!" Nat and the others pushed off into the air to avoid the barrage of laser blasts. They spent a minute in the air, trying to avoid becoming target practice.

"Oh, forget this," an exhausted Alex stated. "You puppets are NOT going to get the best of me!" Alex launched a volley of tornado arrows at the manikin machines below. Surprisingly, it had an effect. When the cords in their backs were sliced off by the roaring winds, their soldiers dematerialized into nothingness. "Did you guys just see that?"

"Yep, and I like what I saw," replied Chris. The red thick-armored warrior swung downward with his battle axe in a fiery and earth shaking impact. Nat didn't want to be the odd man out here, so he crashed in to join the fun as well.

The yellow warrior landed and hurled his electrified halberd through a large crowd of enemies, clearing a charred path of dematerializing scrap metal. "All right!" an excited Nat exclaimed. His personal victory dance was interrupted by a laser blast burning the back of his left shoulder. "Ooohh!" Nat and the others turned around to find many more black gears rising up out of tendril's surface. "Aw, c'mon!"

"This isn't good," Alex said, looking over the seemingly endless waves of black gears.

"It never is," Chris said with his back to his friends. "How about a contest?"

Nat gave Chris a sideways glance. "What kind?"

"See who can destroy the most?"

Alex and Nat smirked. "You're on," they agreed.

At that unified response, Chris smirked. "Then, CHARGE!"

As Light's three friends went into berserker mode, Light had managed to shake off Blitzkrieg. The tyrant was beyond angry. While weaving through the web, Blitzkrieg had somehow missed his prey's movement. Even if Light didn't have a weapon to fight with, he was still able to run and use his fists and feet. "Where are you?" Blitzkrieg screamed out.

"Over here!" Blitzkrieg sharply turned his head to see Light behind him, but paused when he saw the length of cable in Light's hand. "Look what I have here."

"No!" the tyrant yelled. Light made no hesitation to use his ice style palm on the cable, sending a stunning pulse into the villain's body. Blitzkrieg felt the painful pulse ripple through his body. In an unexpected twist, Blitzkrieg dematerialized into nothing, along with his cord.

A few moments passed before Krystal asked, "Is that it? Is he dead?"

"I don't know." That was just too easy. There was absolutely no way that maniac could be killed that easily. Answering his thoughts, Light felt the air to his side whistle and quickly boosted off just as a couple red scythes with violet energy chains rocketed past his head. The blades came out of no where so fast and so close, Light could feel the atmosphere being sliced through. Then with a rattling snap, the red scythes retracted back to where they came from. Before Light could look to where the scythes went, a metallic tri-pronged claw slammed into Light's ribs and into the ground of a large tendril.

"Nice try, brother." Light was pinned and the young man strained to see Blitzkrieg, who just had his scythe blades retracted back into their regular positions. The claw was actually a tendril with a mechanical tri-talon and it was originating from the back of Blitzkrieg's body. Another clawed tendril became visible. The one that held light and Krystal down wrapped itself around Light's arm to pull him up. The second claw launched at Light and hammered its target's sternum. If it was anyone else, a few ribs would have cracked and punctured the lungs. In Light's case, it was definitely going to leave a bluish-black bruise. After the attack, the clawed tendril wrapped around Light's other arm. "But, you can't kill me like that, you see. This entire web, those black gears taking care of your friends, and that bulb in the center is ALL me. You may be able to cause a little bit of harm that's relative to that of a mosquito bite, but there is no way you can kill all that is around you. I'm in front of you… and I'm at your feet." Just then, black tendrils grabbed at Light's ankles and pulled him up into the air.

Light hung above Blitzkrieg like an unwilling kite. "Neat little trick you've got there," Light taunted. From under the helm, Light knew that Blitzkrieg's smirk had faded slightly.

"If you liked that 'little trick,' then I promise that you'll love this!" Blitzkrieg's red scythes launched out of their places with their chains attached. The blades took on a life of their own as they went to torture Light by carving superficial gashes into the knight's armor. Light's pain filled howls filled the air. To at least slow down Blitzkrieg's onslaught, Light decided to try something similar to his last tactic. A tendril wall was close by and Light desperately reached out and touched it. From there Light sent out a pulse, not to Blitzkrieg, but to the bulb where everything originated. As soon as the pulse hit its target internally, the blades stopped there movements. Blitzkrieg felt a similar pain as before, but it felt different to him. The dark sorcerer looked toward the web's center and his suspicions were confirmed. A small red crack began to form on the bulb. The tendril that Light touched to perform the attack dissolved into nothing, while leaving the crystal it was latched on still intact.

Light and Blitzkrieg turned their sight's away from the crack and locked eyes together. Light's eyes conveyed the words, 'I've got your number now, Blitzkrieg.' The tendrils wrapped around Light's limbs were slightly weakened, but weakened enough to allow Light to break free. In a mad dash, Light boosted to the next closest black rail and used his ice palm once again. The results were the same as before. As Light started his counter attack, Blitzkrieg was on him again like an enraged predator. Red scythe blades launched again, forcing Light away from another tendril. Light then started grinding down the rails again, striking every tendril in his way. With each successful attack, Blitzkrieg, who was grinding as well to catch up to Light, clenched in pain every time. He was slowing down. He wasn't going to catch up to Light at the rate he was going. To remedy his problem, Blitzkrieg diverted some of his strength from the web to power up his current form, causing the powerless tendrils to fade away. Feeling refreshed, the villain motioned his armored hand toward where Light was. "Guilty Thorn!"

Light had thought he finally had the advantage, but it wasn't meant to be. The web around him started sprouting out sharp thorns which were noticeably following his movements. Blitzkrieg was covering his blind spots and attempting to impale Light's body at the same time. As Light flew though the cracks in between the thorns that continually popped out of the tendrils, he hoped that his friends were faring better than he was.

Light's friends weren't having near as much luck as he was. The three had electrocuted, fried, and blown away the black gears in enormous numbers. The three were fighting back-to-back-to-back, covering for one another. Unfortunately, they didn't have the same kind of stamina as Light and were pushing themselves beyond their limits. Inevitably, the three collapsed to their knees, no longer possessing the strength to stand or raise their weapons. "So, how may did you get?" Nat ask Alex.

"four, maybe five hundred."

"About as much as me then."

"I've got you both beat," a panting Chris said. "I got seven hundred." The three shared a laughed before looking out at the endless waves of black gears, which were rising up their arm cannons for another barrage of blasts.

Alex's eyes dropped a little. "Let's hope Light can take care of the rest." The next thing the three comrades in arms felt was the wave of blasts that bombarded their tired bodies.

Light flew frantically until his last objective came into view. Despite Blitzkrieg's renewed efforts to catch his prey, Light sped onward to the web's center. The black bulb was now riddled with the glow of red cracks. Blitzkrieg fired a volley a crimson blasts once again to knock the knight off its path. The blasts missed and Light slammed his palm into the hanging orb. Everything around Light paused. The internal attack was a success. The cracks in the sphere spread rapidly and glowed violently. 'This was it,' Light thought as the majority of tendrils died and vanished one after another. "The end."

A moment passed, and then Blitzkrieg's evil cackle rang in Light's ears. Worried, Light turned from the still cracking black mass. "I honestly didn't think you'd be able to push me this far, especially with you being weaponless and my recent gain of unstoppable destructive power. This will slightly stall my triumph, but it'll all be worth it." Light had a bad feeling that this battle was about to take a turn for the worse. After noticing the mass shaking hard under his touch, Light let go and pushed off. The mass cracked and cracked until its top erupted. A column of blood red light shot up high. From where he and Krystal were flying, the two watched as something started to crawl its way out of the open mass. What crawled out and eventually towered high above them, struck fear into the husband and wife's hearts. Blitzkrieg laughed maniacally. "Now you see me for what I truly am."

Staring sinisterly down at the married couple was the coal black skull of the far more colossal skeleton that had emerged out of the black mass until midway of its bottom vertebrae. The rest of the vertebrae on down and the rest of its bottom half was still presumably encased inside the sphere, if a bottom half even existed that is. The whole skeleton looked like it had been charred for its given color. The teeth were sharp and serrated. Its eyes had the same red glow that they had all come to expect from the fiend. "This is…?" Light asked, knowing the demon man would answer.

"That's right! My true form!" answered the armored avatar with the scythe blades. Light could begin to feel an invisible weight fall on his shoulders, making him feel heavy and exhausted. Blitzkrieg noticed Light's suddenly labored breathing. "You can feel it, don't you. The weight of Malxifel's evil could shut down machines and weapons that try to oppose him. The weight of my power however, can shut down life itself." Light watched as crystals close to the evil entity, latched and unlatched, started to die and shatter one after another. "With each crystal that dies, my power increases until that final crystal loses its light. Then, I will become death incarnate. When I reach Earth Prime, my very presence will corrode the planet, destroying all life and then all of existence. What do you think, brother?"

"You're clearly mad, that's what."

The armored Blitzkrieg smirked as his skeletal original raised a bony hand towards Light. "Perhaps, but I control your destiny!" The skeletal hand conjured a ball of black fire and threw the infernal blast at Light. The shear scope of the fire ball's size made it impossible to get out of the way. Krystal tried to protect Light with her wings again, but the dark flames scorched both of them at the same time. Once the flames let up after pushing them high up, Light and Krystal fell onto one of the larger tendril surfaces that still stood.

The scorching and hard landing had Light and Krystal reeling. Light's increasingly labored breathing wasn't helping matters one bit. He groaned as he tried to lift himself off the ground. Before he could get on one knee, Blitzkrieg was already standing a short distance away with all three black horns radiated a dark red. "Black Breaker!" Three black jagged energy waves flew through the air and crashed upon Light, swallowing him up in an explosive bang.

Light's beaten and battered body was hurled off the ground and skidded further back. The motionless mech was covered in cracks, scorch marks, and gashes from when the maniac decided to carve him up like a jack-o-lantern. On the inside however, Krystal had just started to get back to consciousness but found Light to be out cold. "Light… wake up… you've got to… wake up," struggled against herself to say the words, but they were to no avail. Then she felt the both of them being forcibly suspended up in the air by the web's tendrils, one holding each of Light's arms.

"Hhmm, I wonder if that was a little much," Blitzkrieg mused maliciously, all the while grinning. Coming from behind him, Light's captured friends were brought by tendrils that bound their bodies and were held off to Blitzkrieg's side. Light's friends couldn't move, nor did they have the strength to. Their armored bodies were in no better shape than Light's, but they were at least as conscious as Krystal was. Blitzkrieg turned to the three and smiled sadistically. "Well, hello there. Nat, Chris, and Alex, was it? I'm so glad you've decided to come and join us for this historic moment."

"Screw you!" Nat yelled with much enthusiasm his practically broken body would allow.

Nat's venomous words didn't faze the man in the least. "Oh don't worry, you'll get yours, right after I take care of your friend here. So long I've waited for this moment. I'm going to make sure I enjoy every last second of this up until he breathes that final breath of air." With blades extended, Blitzkrieg dashed to take Light's life. Krystal and Light's friends started to call out to their best friend. Their calls were weak at first, and each passing millisecond brought Light closer to certain death. Then they yelled out with all of their might… and Light's beating heart reverberated with their cries.

…

…

…

In his unconscious state, Light's mind was still active, but very weary from pain. It was dark in his mind. '_Have I died again?_' he thought to himself. '_I guess I lost again, didn't I? Everyone was counting on me, and I let them down again. Even worse, I wasn't able to protect my family or friends. If only I was able tap into that power inside, then that'd show that insane freak._'

'_Then why don't you?_'

'_Chris? Is that you?_'

'_I know we said that we'd come to back you up, but looks like you need more help with this than I thought._'

Light laughed in spite of himself. '_You're probably right, Alex._'

'_If you need a helping hand or two, I think I might be willing to offer them, Bulby._'

An image of Krystal embracing his sight appeared. '_You don't have to worry anymore, Light. If it's the dark taint of your power that's the problem, then we'll hold back that taint. Use your power, Light. Use our power. Use our love._'

'_Save us!_' all four voices earnestly asked in unison.

…

Right before Blitzkrieg's scythe blades could puncture though Light's chest, an overwhelming power surge was unleashed from Light's body. The power's essence alone was more than enough to dive off Blitzkrieg and his intended execution. The dark monarch was forcibly pushed off into the distance until he finally regained control of himself. Light's friends were no longer in sight, and before him stood a new kind of knight.

The cracks, scorch marks, and gashes were gone. The mech was no longer grey but expressed the colors of the souls inside. It's primary color, an icy blue. His right arm was Chris' fiery red. The left arm was green for Alex's wind. The armored leggings were ice blue with jagged yellow lighting bolt patterns running downward to the boots that were of the same electrical shade. The paldrons contrasted each other. The right paldron was pure white, while the left was a deep black.

The grey hemisphere crystals on the mech had also changed as they gained a new shining life. The two on the knees were gold and sapphire. The two on the chest were ruby and emerald. The hemispheres on each paldron contrasted as well. The crystal on the white paldron was onyx, and the crystal on the black paldron was opal. The last crystal on the mech's forehead was aquamarine to match the mech's primary colors. Inside of the mech, a now transformed Light, the same as when he first fought Blitzkrieg, stood ready with his wife and friends hovering around him.

Back on Cerinia, everyone had been working in a rush to get their systems back online. Allistor and Lindsey were outside of the ship with a transmitter. The couple was trying to help the Cornerians and Cerinians get everything back together. They were worried about the others though. The only sign they had that all was not lost was the mere fact that they were still alive. After a while, Allistor started to notice people running out of the Solomon in a hurry. They all had their faces glued to the sky. Wondering what was up, Allistor looked at the sky as well and dropped everything he was doing. Lindsey stopped her work and turned to Allistor, just noticing the mindless expression on his face. "What." When she got no response, she followed his eyes and gasped. "Oh my… What in the world?"

"It's… them?" he said. Up in the sky, aside from still spreading Void hole, was an image of a very different, but not unrecognizable, mech. "It has to be them!"

"It is." Allistor and Lindsey turned back and saw Clouse with his eyes watching the scene as closely as the others. Along with Light, a monstrous skeletal creature and a deadlier looking Malxifel opposed them. "They've done it. Together, they've helped Light realize the depths of his power."

"I see that, but why can we see them?"

"That's because the multi-verse is beginning to collapse in on itself, and their extraordinary power is speeding up this break down. These next few moments will decide everything."

Back at the Grand Cross's nerve center, a transformed Light looked ahead at Blitzkrieg's skeletal form or, more specifically, the forehead of the skull. When the monster had first made its appearance, Light had noticed a brief sparkle from the creature's forehead but wasn't clearheaded enough to think on it. With Light's now heightened senses, he was able focus himself enough to take a good enough glace at the sparkle that caught his eye before. Light had no doubt about what he saw. Back at Atlantis, inside his mind, the crystal he drew the Void power from before had a fragment missing. There was no mistake. Light quickly guessed that was the reason why Malxifel referred to Blitzkrieg as 'the fragment.' The amethyst crystal shard embedded into that skull was the physical form of Blitzkrieg's evil soul. Light knew then what needed to be down.

"And now, Blitzkrieg!" Light said as he willed swords of radiant light to materialize in the air. "The tables have turned! Let's end this!"

"Yes, lets!"

This time, it was Light who charged at his foe. "Seven Hearts Swords!" The seven blades of white light rocketed off on their own and consecutively assaulted Blitzkrieg. The dark armored entity parried nearly every attack, but missed one which stabbed through his left arm. In the shock of Blitzkrieg's intense pain, Light tackled Blitzkrieg like a meteorite striking a planet's surface. Light slammed Blitzkrieg into the wall and started dragging him along.

As Light dragged blitzkrieg across the wall, they both started to hear voices. They were weak and incomprehensible at first, so the two ignored them. Blitzkrieg soon tired of the painful indignity of the dragging and put his black foot in and kicked Light away. After that moment, the voices started coming in loud and clear. "Save us!" they kept repeating.

Blitzkrieg clenched his teeth in annoyance. "What is that infernal racket?"

Light and the others knew exactly what those voices were, "I'll tell you what they are! Those are the cries of the lives you are trying to take! I've decided, Blitzkrieg. You're far too dangerous to just kill. The proof of that is already before us." Light raised his hand into the air and an insurmountable amount of energy gathered in his hand, almost like he was gathering the wills of everyone he was trying to save. Light's hand enclosed around the energy and it took solid form. A new long and powerful sword was forged. It was a beautiful sword with a pearl-white blade and the hilt was a noble cobalt blue. The most striking feature was the ethereal appearance of the blast itself. "I call this the Infinity Sword, and I'm not going to use it to destroy your body. With this blade, I'm going to slash your soul!"

Light flew down from his position in the sky and started grinding on one of the tendrils that was a straight ride toward Blitzkrieg's skeletal form. Blitzkrieg wasn't going to let this one go lying down. The tyrant melded into the closest tendril he could find and popped out of another to stand in Light's way. Light saw two red scythe blades flying at him and jumped off of his rail. With his sword, he slashed them both away with a single swipe. Blitzkrieg closed in on Light after his failed attack to thrust his other two other blades at his prey. "You can go ahead and try! Even if you destroy me, I'll find a way to come back!"

"Not this time!" Light willed his seven swords into existence again. The seven weapons swiped at Blitzkrieg's encroaching arm, knocking the invading arm away. Blitzkrieg opened his palm out and fired a crimson burst at Light, who countered with a fireball blast of his own. The two projectiles came in contact and combusted, blowing the warriors away from each other. Light didn't have the time to mess around with Blitzkrieg like the way he was and went for the rails again. Blitzkrieg followed suit, grinding on a rail parallel to light's own. It was clear that the demon wasn't going to make this easy.

The two slashed, blocked, and parried every attack they threw at each other. They started hopping across their opposite rails and slashed at the other as they reached a point where their lines were close together. They both went for a close slash, but became deadlocked with their blades. They did this repeatedly until Light finally saw his destination coming upon them. Light pushed off and started flying straight at the skull. "Get back here!" Blitzkrieg launched another scythe at Light, but this time his target caught the projectile by its chain. Light pulled hard at the chain and performed an electrifying kick, driving the electrocuting foot into the fiend's chest and propelling him a long distance ahead. Blitzkrieg flew fast and almost hit the sternum of his skeletal self, but regained his bearings. "ENOUGH OF THIS!" Blitzkrieg channeled just about every last drop of power he had for one murderous attack. As Light sped forward, Blitzkrieg jumped and flew like a jet at the incoming hero. "DIE!"

Light noticed the purple glow emanating from Blitzkrieg's hand and gathered a large concentration of wind to prepare himself for the coming attack. Blitzkrieg got up close and unleashed a violet stream of devastation. At the same time, Light outstretched his left hand and the wind in his hand formed a shield. Light flew head long into the blast with his hurricane shield leading the way. It didn't go quite as planned though. Every moment Light fought through the deadly blast, his shield quickly began to wear away. Then, right before Light could reach Blitzkrieg, Light's shield dispersed. The stream then consumed Light's left arm. From within the mech, Light screamed out as his left arm disintegrated into nothing. "LIGHT!" Krystal screamed.

Blitzkrieg began to laugh madly at this, "AND NOW, GO TO YOUR GRAVE!"

Even through the agonizing and unbearable pain, Light persevered. "NOT YET, BLITZKRIEG! I ONLY NEED ONE ARM TO DEFEAT YOU!" Light's reared Infinity Sword was then thrust, straight and true, impaling straight through Blitzkrieg's body, where his heart would have been. Blitzkrieg couldn't move; he felt stuck. The villain couldn't believe that there was a possibility that he could lose. Light pushed onward and slammed the end of the sword that was sticking out of Blitzkrieg, down on the shard that was embedded on fiend's skull.

The fragment that was Blitzkrieg's soul, shattered into nothing as the sword came down on it. For everyone involved, time slowed to a stop as the gravity of all that had just happened sunk in. The web that bound half the room began to crack with white light, as did Blitzkrieg and his no longer moving skeletal counter part.

Then, there was a flash of light.

In the midst of that light, which veiled everything around in a shining blindness, Light and Krystal had a mental exchange.

'_Light, it's time._'

'_I know. I'm sorry I won't be able to join you all._'

'_Light, I promise to always be by your side… until the end._'

…

'_I don't expect any more than that. I love you… Krystal._'

'_And I you… my human love._'

**End of Arc-3**

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**Author's Note****: And the arc ends on a cliff-hanger. That's pretty sadistic of me. Be sure to join me next time when we finally wrap things. Bye!**


	33. Epilogue

**Author's Note****: The day has finally come. All good things must come to an end. If it didn't, it'd become stagnant and lose its magic. It's always so hard to say good bye. Most writers tend to look down on their roots and say, "I can't believe I wrote this," but I don't. I'll always look fondly to this series. It was through this series that I was able to realize what I want to do with my life. I also want to thank all of the readers and reviewers who have supported me and my endeavors these past three years. I'm going to miss you all, at least for a while. I don't think this is the end of fanfiction for me, but this is the end of this series. My next project will be one that I will try to get publish. I will keep my profile page here updated though, so that if I do get my work published, then you all will know. I do plan on doing a publishable work involving a human and an anthro female(more than likely a fox or cat), but that will be after I've established myself as a published author, and that one will be for you guys. But now, it's tie to wrap everything up and say our goodbyes. I'll still be reading and reviewing other people's stories here, and that reminds me… enjoy the epilogue and remember to ****Read & Review****. As a side note, I also decided to change the summary on the story listings.  
**

**To Bloodwolf432****: As much as I'd like to write a Megaman fanfic, I do have hope that our movement will bring it back. We've been working along with Operation Rainfall and they've just recently made a breakthrough in getting the game they want translated into English when there was no plan to. Now, if and when I do come back into fanfiction, it might very well end up being a Megaman Legends story unless I get another idea, which I very well might.**

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**Epilogue**

**3 days later…**

There was a knock on the door as someone on the inside called out, 'Come in,' the door opened and Nat, Chris, and Alex walked in the room after receiving their invitation. The three fellows, who had bandage wrappings all over, gathered around the others in the room. "So, is Bulby awake yet?"

"Yes," Light said. "I'm very much awake, now." Light, compared to everyone else, practically had a full body suit of bandages.

Krystal and the kids giggled lightly and finished answering the guys, "He came to about an hour ago, and we've already explained everything."

"Yep," piqued the occupant of the other bed beside Light with his arm in a sling and some light bandaging around his head. "Everything's been taken care of here." Fox, with fera at his bedside and his team mates around him, smiled as they thought back to Light coming out his three day coma.

An hour before, Light had woken up to a burning blindness, forcing his eyes to remain close until the burning sensation stopped. "What's going on here?" he said. When his eyes finally adjusted, he was lying there in a bed with two sets of sparkling eyes staring down at him. "Dawn? Dusk?" The two children wrapped their arms around their father, causing him to wince in pain.

"Okay kids, I know your happy too, but you can't hug your father like that. It hurts him too much right now." The children let go with bright smiles on their faces. Then an amazingly beautiful Krystal pressed her mouth to his in a light kiss.

Off to the side, Falco gave out a large "Whhoooo!" That was when Light notice noticed the rest of the occupants in the room. Fox was in the bed beside while the rest of the Starfox team sat and stood around their leader.

With his freshly open eyes, Light saw his mother, Joel, Lindsey, Morganna, Brandon, Saber, and Krystal's parents were also present. His friends were missing though, probably still asleep. Everyone was there, with the exception of Clouse, Allistor, Leonidas, and Light's father. Even General Pepper and fox's friend Bill were there for him. "I'm… alive?" he asked with tears brimming. No one could stop the warm smiles that spread around the room, nor did they want to.

"Yes, Light," Sarah said, stepping up to the bed. "You're alive."

"And that's the way it's going to be," Krystal's mother assured.

"But… the Forlorn Knight!" Light said rising up too sharply. He winced in pain with his right arm and found that his left arm really was gone.

Krystal gently forced Light to lay back down and said, "You don't have anything to fear anymore. We'll tell you everything." From there, Krystal, along with the others, weaved a short story.

After the battle, they had all been found, transported more like, along with the Forlorn Knight beside them. Most of them quick to wake up, but it looked like Light would be out of it for a long time. They were almost all injured in some way that needed treatment, but none more so than Light. He was still alive though. The forlorn knight did not take his life away. They all questioned why, but, as always, Clouse had an answer. The moment Light was able to tap into his Void power, the mech switched from draining Light's life to powering itself with Void energy. It drained every last drop of Void power Light had. Because Light's friends were there with him, their clout's power had also been drained by the mech. More than likely, the four of them would never be able to access those powers ever again. Even Krystal wasn't immune from the mech's effects. Her psychic powers and magic were slightly weakened. Clouse was only with them for a day longer when he decided it time for him to take his leave, but not before telling Allistor, the books were ready to be open.

After the inter-dimensional traveler left, it was decided that everyone would be moved to P.O.U.R. HQ and in the infirmary. It was also decided that the mech would stay and be situated outside of the castle wall and raised like a statue. The Cerinians were going to place a plaque at its feet, commemorating events that had taken place in that one week and its heroes. They were also going to rename the mech for the plaque. They were going to call it the 'Infinity Knight.'

Allistor, seeing Light's condition, immediately went to work with the Cerinians, Cornerians, and Slippy Toad on making Light a prosthetic arm. With their combined technologies, the new bionic arm they were developing would be as sensitive and feel as real as his missing limb was. Although, as state of the art it was, he would still need to have physical therapy for about a year to get his body used to the replacement. Not only that, he and Leonidas had to complete their reports to P.O.U.R.'s chairman.

From then on, they were just waiting for Light to wake up so they can really celebrate. As Krystal finished explaining what had been happening, Light had to ask. "So, what happened to Blitzkrieg?"

Saber was proud to announce this answer. "He's gone. And this time, he's gone for good. You did well, my brother. I couldn't be any prouder of you."

"As are we all," General Pepper said. Light was showered with praises from everyone until he noticed the necklace around Krystal's neck.

"Krystal, what's that?" He pointed to the gold chain with an emerald tear drop.

"Oh, this?" Krystal had almost forgotten about it over the last few days. "Yeah, I got on Earth Prime… from… you know." Light knew who she was talking about, but was surprised all the same to see it. Especially Sarah.

"Well, I don't believe it. I haven't seen this in years."

"What is it? What is it?" the twins eagerly asked their grandmother.

"This is the custom necklace I had made shortly after I gave birth to your father. I believe I've already told you all this, but while pregnant, I was saved on a dark night. Someone with violet eyes tried to kill me, but a flash of blue rushed in to save my life. In that flash, I was able to barely make out an emerald colored dot. An emerald eye. That was you, wasn't?" she asked Krystal. The blue furred princess grinned sheepishly and nodded. "I made that necklace and intended to give it to Light when he was older so he can give it to the one he would find and fall in love with. And then you came, my dear. Love found him and I had forgotten about the necklace ever since." From there, they all started to share stories with one another and having fun for once in al of this mess. To Light, this was the way it ought to be.

In another part of the P.O.U.R. HQ, Allistor and Leonidas walked into the chairman's office to give him their reports. "So, how is everything?" the chairman asked.

"Everything is going fine for the most part," Allistor started. "The bionic arm should be ready for testing in a few weeks since we have people working around the clock. If all goes well, then we'll start Light's operation a month after the tests are finished."

"Good. And what did Clouse say about these books?" The chairman had the three books laid out open on his table.

Leonidas took the helm from Allistor. "Clouse said that as long as we keep these books safe from harm. None of our memories should be altered. He said he originally pulled these books out so Fox and the other Cornerians would be able to keep their memories, but Fara's release was an unexpected development that would have changed our memories as well. Thankfully the books counter this memory change as well."

"Good. If everything is nice and calm then, I think I'll catch up on some reading." The chairman closed two of the books and the last one and began to walk out of the room with it until Allistor stopped him.

"Hey wait, Tim. Aren't you going to read the other one, it's more recent?"

Light's father smiled as he stared down at the book's cover. He shook his head, 'no.' "Just like every good story, it's always best to start from beginning." Light's father left his office and left Allistor and Leonidas standing. He had heard Light had woken up earlier and planned to see his son as soon as he could. Tim smiled to himself, thinking about the book he was carrying and intended to read.

The book's cover read, "_**Only a Girl Out of this World.**_"

**THE END**

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**Author's Note****: And now let the credits roll(I suggest "Charice Crescent Moon"). Well, everyone, we have officially come to the end. For a little fun, I've decided to add some fun facts about the series and my stories stats as of now. Also if you would like to be friend of mine on Facebook, let me now in your review or PM. For the last in an indeterminate amount of time, this is ****lanceXstorm5****, signing off. Goodbye everybody. **

**Fun fact #1****: While writing the first story, I had absolutely nothing planned. I wrote exclusively through my muse then.**

**Fun Fact #2****: While writing this story, instead of Andross, I originally planned on having Ganondorf as Blitzkrieg's right hand man. I did want this to become a crossover, so I changed it to Andross and the change wasn't hard. If Ganondorf was present then I'm sure his chemistry with Blitzkrieg would have been radically different. **

**Fun fact #3****: I briefly considered having a few other video game characters from other universes in the story. While it would have been plausible to do, I believed it would have been a conflict of interest and the story would have strayed too far from its main concept.**

Story Stats: 

"Only a Girl Out of this World" – 226 reviews – 31,231 hits – 61 Favs – 36 Alerts – "Out of this World," continues to be my most popular story and is still getting hits and reviews long after it has concluded.

"Only a Girl's Honeymoon Madness" – 75 reviews – 8,025 hits – 21 Favs – 13 Alerts – This one was a bit of a guilty pleasure. I know honeymoon fics are looked down poorly, but I just couldn't resist. I wanted to exercise my powers of comedy to see how well I do.

"Only a Girl Breaking the Barriers" – 167 Reviews – 18,457 hits – 27 Favs – 19 Alerts – I don't think I need to explain too much here. The greatly requested sequel and my chance to try my hand at writing an epic.


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